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Written by Drago Bosnic, independent geopolitical and military analyst
China’s breakaway island province of Taiwan has been a point of contention for centuries, as various invading colonial powers (primarily Western ones, but also Japan) tried to limit Beijing’s sovereignty and independence. For the last 76 years, Taiwan has been split from China along ideological lines and (ab)used to exert constant pressure on the Asian giant. However, the situation has changed dramatically in the last several decades, as Beijing’s power projection capabilities grew exponentially, making the troubled government in Taipei a mere footnote in comparison. Although still relatively rich and developed, the so-called “Republic of China” doesn’t have the military might to withstand a direct clash with the much larger and more powerful mainland China.
More experienced policymakers in Taiwan understand this very well, including Beijing’s former enemies in the Kuomintang (KMT). Namely, the party is fully aware that the island cannot survive without China; economically, demographically, financially or in any other way. Unfortunately, while the KMT, which waged war with Beijing for decades, understands this, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is much less inclined to make compromises and is actively pushing the island province into a potential bloodbath. China has been trying to avoid such a scenario for decades, as it would be very similar to the Ukrainian conflict, another perfectly avoidable NATO-orchestrated war that still continues to claim countless lives.
Sadly, Beijing’s peaceful overtures and attempts to ease tensions have only been met with open hostility. The government in Taipei cannot be considered sovereign in any conceivable way and effectively acts as a (geo)political extension of the United States, still dead set on igniting a war for which it firmly believes would hurt China. In addition, the increasingly aggressive Trump administration’s idea of reindustrialization is based mainly on further militarization, as the American Military Industrial Complex (MIC) is the only major production sector of the US economy that hasn’t been entirely outsourced. For this reason, Trump, who openly says that war is “good business”, supports the continuation of Washington DC’s aggression against the entire world.
For instance, the US is manufacturing new MGM-140 ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) for the government in Taipei. Military sources report that China’s breakaway province is acquiring at least 84 of these SRBM (short-range ballistic missile) launchers. The acquisition would allow Taipei to threaten targets in the coastal areas of mainland China (particularly the neighboring Fujian province), including both critical civilian infrastructure and military facilities. This marks a significant escalation, as the ATACMS can be fired from both M270/MARS tracked platforms and M142 HIMARS wheeled vehicles, as well as the new GMARS that was presented just last year. All of these launchers can also fire the upcoming PrSM (Precision Strike Missile).
Military sources report that the first batch of at least 11 launchers was already delivered back in November 2024, while the first HIMARS units were formed in early July this year. In case the PrSM is deployed by the government in Taipei at some point, it would enable strikes up to 1,000 km into mainland China. This would put the majority of the largest Chinese cities in range, including Nanjing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanchang, Fuzhou, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Macao, etc. Considering how compact the PrSM is, as well as the number of launch vehicles, the transfer of such systems would allow Taipei to fire hundreds of missiles. It should be noted that the PrSM is one of the reasons Russia cancelled its unilateral moratorium on the deployment of medium and intermediate-range missiles.
However, such weapons aren’t the only systems Washington DC is sending to Taiwan. Namely, the infamous Anduril (one of the fastest-growing companies in the US MIC) signed a contract on the supply of the first batch of “Altius-600M” loitering munitions. On August 5, the Taipei government’s Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng met Palmer Luckey, the founder of Anduril Industries. Chiu reportedly noted that the “Altius-600M” kamikaze drones would “provide an immediate combat capability and would strengthen the Republic of China Army’s ground-based strike and defensive capabilities”. This came mere days after Anduril signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology.
The contract with Taipei’s top military tech institution is undoubtedly a long-term investment that would enable the proliferation of advanced AI weapon systems. What’s more, Anduril works closely with Palantir and similar high-tech startups that have close ties with the Pentagon, so such deals would also facilitate further integration of American MIC companies with the Taipei government’s armed forces. Militarized AI systems have already been used against the Russian military in NATO-occupied Ukraine, although with mixed results due to Moscow’s unrivaled electronic warfare (EW) systems. The Chinese military has similar capabilities and can easily train with the Russian Armed Forces to integrate the latter’s extensive combat experience.
Moscow and Beijing already have high-level military cooperation, as evidenced by the latest joint naval drills off the coast of Vladivostok. The PLA (People’s Liberation Army) is particularly focused on strengthening its naval component (PLAN), as the primary threat for China comes precisely from the Pacific Ocean, where the US, its vassals and satellite states operate and seek to maintain pressure on China’s maritime borders and trade routes. The PLAN keeps introducing new weapon systems and strategic assets, such as the Type 052D/052DM guided-missile destroyers (DDGs), Type 094 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) and Type 003 (NATO reporting name Fujian-class) supercarriers, to name a few.
In addition to naval operations, the Chinese military is also preparing for space warfare. Namely, as the US-led political West is seeking to militarize space, Beijing needs to prepare for this eventuality, particularly as American supposedly “civilian” companies are increasingly integrating advanced ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) and communications assets with the Pentagon. This is especially true for corporations such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX and its infamous “Starlink” that’s used by the Neo-Nazi junta forces to circumvent some of Russia’s technological edge in NATO-occupied Ukraine. The integration of military capabilities and experiences of multipolar powers will be essential in countering Western aggression.
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