No. of Recommendations: 2
As long as we maintain a significant presence, China would have a problem getting across the strait to Taiwan. They certainly could launch aircraft and missiles. But getting troop carriers across the strait would be a problem, unless we just weren't paying attention and left the area unguarded. Or if we elect the convict.
The Philippines is allowing us to set up on the northern islands, so we can move to guard the backside of Taiwan during hostilities.
China has a lot of chip manufacturing, but I can't think of a single western company that has a fab there. In fact, last I knew China had banned chips from AMD and Intel in their PCs.
True. We may need to make a DEI exception so Taiwan can use its Techies.
The Philippines doesn't have the money to build ships or infrastructure in any quantity. But they have slowly invited us back in (e.g. they are expanding the Subic naval base a bit to accommodate larger vessels). In a conflict, the Philippines will need a lot of help. Which would be in our best interests to provide, even if we didn't have a treaty.
We recognized the treaty and helped get the EEZ ruling from international courts. We give them refurbished ships, etc. I would've liked that radar on Palawan, but I'm happy with the other bases. The Chinese strategy is to overwhelm by numbers, which is effective. Shoot a 100 missiles at a carrier and a couple are bound to get through. So both China and the US need to avoid escalation to open hostilities. We both know it. But an increased presence will help both the PI and Taiwan.
