Ever since Chiang Kai Chek and his Nationalist Government lost the war against the Communists under Mao Zedong in 1949 and retreated to Taiwan, a potential struggle for the island of Formosa was been on the table. America has made 2 crucial blunders that created the monster of Communism in mainland China. 1) In 1947 General Marshall cut off supplies and military aid to Chiang Kai Chek’s government.  This move effective sealed the fate of a Democratic party as the civil war raged on with the Communists. A war weary Nationalist party eventually was forced to withdraw to Taiwan while preserving what ancient China artifacts that would have been plundered by the Communists.

Typical Democrat capitulation

2) Jimmy Carter ordered the withdrawal of the US Naval and airbase in Taiwan. Since 1950 Communist China has been making aggressive moves. When President Truman declared the Taiwan strait to be neutral and ordered the US Navy 7^th Fleet into the region to prevent an attack by the CCP upon Taiwan, it was only after China had seized several islands off their coast such as Hainan, Dachen Islands, and Yijiangshan.

Compromised deterrence

At one time the US possessed a missile base on Taiwan, and even a nuclear storage facility while the US Marines maintained fighter squadrons there too, but in 1978 President Carter against Congressional support, decided to not only withdraw the US military bases, but left Formosa with a rather unsure agreement which did not absolutely guarantee a US intervention in the event of a Communist Chinese invasion. This defied a previous agreement reached in 1954 in which US military bases were installed with headquarters in Taipei. With the loss of that strategic location China would later become emboldened and begin their pattern of dominance of the region. After the withdrawal of US military bases Carter also discontinued official diplomatic relations with the Taiwanese government.

On the offensive

China has sanctioned Australia to the cost of 20 billion to their economy as a result of threats made back and forth between the two nations. Japan has been threatened by the PRC as well and has warned China in return. China is in direct conflict with all its Asian neighbors such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia. The Communists spend more on their defense budget than all those nations combined, but are also vastly developing a threatening presence in the South China Sea. In direct opposition to the US Naval fleet there, many worry with tensions so high what might happen if an accident were to occur. China has steadily increased its violations of Taiwan air space with their carrier and land based fighter aircraft. With the botched withdrawal of the US from Afghanistan, China now warns Taiwan that the US will not be there should China decide to take them by force. It has been predicted China will soon recall it's ambassador to the US.

The what if’s can’t be ignored!

If China continues to try to dominate the South China Sea where a third of the goods of the world are transported to market and invades Taiwan, the economic repercussions to, not only America, but the rest of the world will guarantee a solid Communist control of worldwide trade and regional tyranny. Xi Jing Ping has been making threats against Australia and even warned Japan that they could be under threat of a Chinese nuclear attack! Recently a new pact has been announced between America, Australia, and Great Britain (AUKUS) to ensure a defensive military presence in the region. If Taiwan were to be attacked by China, the island of Formosa, who makes more electronic chips than any other nation in the world would no longer supply the US which would be devastating to the American industry so how can we allow an invasion to happen?

Balance of power

The US is currently supplying Taiwan with F-16’s and nuclear submarines to help prop up the island defenses, but the Taiwan military has been cutting back its defense expenditures. Australia will be receiving 10 nuclear submarines from American defense contractors as well. Will this help curtail China’s bullying of its neighbors? Doubtful, as western nations have been warned that in the event of war their heads will be crushed by a wall of steel!  Does this sound like the talk of a peaceful and benevolent nation? The bold expansionism of China currently is reminiscent of Japan’s actions prior to World War II. Will history repeat itself again?

Conclusion

However, China has its own problems at home with a failing economy, a huge debt born out of building cities that most Chinese cannot afford to live in, and the masses at home growing restless over the inherent poverty in the country. More than one major war has been started once a large nation if faced with social unrest and uses war to unify that country deploying expeditionary force to capture resources from neighboring nation states. This might be the triggering event that could compel the PRC to pull off hostilities that could ignite a huge conflict in the region. Historians warn that any such actions could dictate the course of world events for decades to come if such an outbreak were to occur. What Australia, Great Britain, Japan, China’s neighboring Asian countries, and Taiwan worry about is will America be there as an ally they can rely upon when shots are fired in anger. One thing’s for sure, we’ll need another Commander in Chief to prevent Communist China from domination!