Search Results
6/11/2025, 3:17:35 PM
Realistic answer is:
From 1949 up until about 1990, there was no need, because the Chinese Communists did not have a navy. Not a smaller navy, or a navy capable of dealing with a carrier battlegroup, but no blue water navy. They had a large collection of torpedo boats and missile boats and small, Soviet-type Diesel subs to fuck around along the coast, but they had absolute zero ability to send troops across the 100 miles of water separating them from Taiwan. Taiwan's military isn't great, but it had more than sufficient firepower to see off the kind of slap-fights that did occasionally occur, especially in the 1950's.
A US Navy carrier battlegroup showing up (and one was always in the general area) would have just adding to the beating if Beijing had tried at any time during that period, assuming they were serious. (and a lot of the time they had others stuff going on, i.e. Cultural Revolution).
After 1991 and the Gulf War scared them, the Chinese started to get serious, and began building a real 1st World military, Navy included. Coincidentally, their friends in the West had set them on an economic arc that would pay for building such a force.
By about 2010, they looked around, and they were a real power now. Taiwan had lets its military rot to a degree also. By that point, to where we are now, they seriously started considering taking Taiwan back. It has turned into their Holy Grail of foreign policy.
So during the first long period, there was no immediate need to set US forces on teh island. By the middle period, it wasn't a good idea politically/diplomatically, lest it screw up America's economic ties with China. By the late period/now, there is active concern it could precipitate a war by doing it, instead of preventing it.
From 1949 up until about 1990, there was no need, because the Chinese Communists did not have a navy. Not a smaller navy, or a navy capable of dealing with a carrier battlegroup, but no blue water navy. They had a large collection of torpedo boats and missile boats and small, Soviet-type Diesel subs to fuck around along the coast, but they had absolute zero ability to send troops across the 100 miles of water separating them from Taiwan. Taiwan's military isn't great, but it had more than sufficient firepower to see off the kind of slap-fights that did occasionally occur, especially in the 1950's.
A US Navy carrier battlegroup showing up (and one was always in the general area) would have just adding to the beating if Beijing had tried at any time during that period, assuming they were serious. (and a lot of the time they had others stuff going on, i.e. Cultural Revolution).
After 1991 and the Gulf War scared them, the Chinese started to get serious, and began building a real 1st World military, Navy included. Coincidentally, their friends in the West had set them on an economic arc that would pay for building such a force.
By about 2010, they looked around, and they were a real power now. Taiwan had lets its military rot to a degree also. By that point, to where we are now, they seriously started considering taking Taiwan back. It has turned into their Holy Grail of foreign policy.
So during the first long period, there was no immediate need to set US forces on teh island. By the middle period, it wasn't a good idea politically/diplomatically, lest it screw up America's economic ties with China. By the late period/now, there is active concern it could precipitate a war by doing it, instead of preventing it.
Page 1