Pentagon assessed security in the Taiwan Strait

The Pentagon released its annual report to Congress “Military and Security Developments involving the People’s Republic of China” on May 2, 2019.  This 136-page report has 5 chapters, 1 executive summary, and 4 appendixes.    The topics for each chapter are: Chapter 1: Understanding China’s strategy; Chapter 2: Force modernization goals and trends; Chapter 3: Capabilities for operations along China’s periphery; Chapter 4: Resources for force modernization; and U.S.-China military-to-military contacts.    Regarding the security of Taiwan, the report states “China’s overall strategy toward Taiwan continues to incorporate elements of both persuasion and coercion to hinder the development of political attitudes in Taiwan favoring independence.  Although China advocates for peaceful unification with Taiwan, China has never renounced the use of military force, and continues to develop and deploy advanced military capabilities needed for a potential military campaign”.    The report used 9 pages to further describe the security in Taiwan Strait with three main subjects: 1. China’s strategy and capabilities development in the Taiwan Strait; 2. China’s courses of action against Taiwan; 3. The PLA’s current posture for a Taiwan conflict; and 4. Taiwan’s defensive capabilities.   This report also cited 7 circumstances under which China would use military force against Taiwan: 1. Formal declaration of Taiwan independence; 2. Undefined moves toward Taiwan independence; 3. Internal unrest in Taiwan; 4. Taiwan’s acquisition of nuclear weapons; 5. Indefinite delays in the resumption of cross-Strait dialogue unification; 6. Foreign intervention in Taiwan’s internal affairs; and 7. Foreign forces stationed on Taiwan.   China’s military actions against Taiwan could include the following options: 1. Air and maritime blockade; 2. Limited force or coercive options; 3. Air and missile campaign; and invasion of Taiwan.   Finally, the report mentions two key takeaways on Taiwan’ defense capabilities; 1. Taiwan’s advantages continue to decline as China’s modernization efforts continue; and 2. To counter China’s improving capabilities, Taiwan is developing new concepts and capabilities for asymmetric warfare.