ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

For Taiwan to survive as a democracy, it must continue to strengthen ties with the West and China’s other regional adversaries, writes the author of a new paper published by the Association of the U.S. Army as part of its Land Warfare series.

“Preserving Peace and Democracy in Taiwan” was authored by Victoria Djou, a former AUSA intern who is a junior at the University of Virginia majoring in foreign affairs with a Chinese minor. She is currently studying abroad at National Chengchi University in Taiwan.

More and more partners and allies in the Indo-Pacific are turning to the U.S. as they work to deter China’s “aggressive, irresponsible and insidious” behavior, the commander of U.S. Army Pacific said.

The Chinese are “conducting operations where they are violating the territorial integrity and the national sovereignty” of their neighbors in the region, and those neighbors are turning to their partner the U.S. Army, Gen. Charles Flynn said Oct. 12.

A panel sponsored by the Association of the U.S. Army about deterring war highlighted that winning without fighting doesn’t mean winning without a strong and ready military.

“To me, deterrence means being ready,” said retired Republic of Korea Army Lt. Gen. Chun In-Bum, senior vice president of AUSA’s Korea chapter. This includes having a strong and visible force so opponents will recognize that the U.S. is ready to fight if necessary.

The U.S. Army and the capabilities it brings to the fight are critical to deterring China, according to a new Landpower Essay published by the Association of the U.S. Army.

The war in Ukraine is “far from over” as Russia remains a significant threat and China continues to increase its influence in several European sectors, the officer in charge of U.S. forces in Europe said.

In testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, Gen. Christopher Cavoli, commander of U.S. European Command and NATO’s supreme allied commander, said the U.S. “remains optimistic for Ukraine’s future, but this war is far from over,” because while Russia shows no sign of relenting, it is not the only problem facing the European alliance.

Even as the Army grows its footprint and relationships in the Indo-Pacific, it is not looking for a fight in what the service’s top civilian leader calls a “complicated neighborhood.”

“Our goal is to avoid fighting a land war in Asia,” Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said. “This is all about deterrence. We want to lower the temperature in the relationship with China.”

As China’s ability to wage large-scale war grows, the U.S. military must pivot from purchasing large, expensive platforms to smaller capabilities that can deploy more quickly, according to senior defense analysts.

All the services are experimenting with innovative solutions for future warfare, but the process of moving from concept to the warfighter is cumbersome and slow and too focused on big spending when smaller, more agile technologies may be suitable more quickly.

As China builds and modernizes its combat forces, little is known about how well those troops might perform and sustain themselves in a prolonged fight, according to a panel of analysts who study the Chinese military.

U.S. military leaders have described China as America’s “pacing challenge” as the U.S. military shifts from 20 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan to preparing for large-scale combat operations on a complex future battlefield.

LANPAC, an Association of the U.S. Army-sponsored event focused on the Indo-Pacific, opened May 17 in Honolulu with a clear message of strengthening joint training and cooperation between the U.S. and other nations in the region. 

Gen. Charles Flynn, U.S. Army Pacific commanding general, said the return of the land forces symposium is important after a three-year break because of the COVID-19 pandemic.