Perhaps the title is a little too certain, but this is the Internet, and the drive for clicks supersedes the drive for truth.
I don’t want to go all Bill Gertz here (I reviewed his book Treachery in 2005 and followed some of his columns in the Washington Post back in the day; he was/is quite the, erm, cautionary voice on China), but the plan after the Coronication is to decouple economically from a face-saving nation whose regime will be under the threat of losing the Mandate of Heaven, who faces uncertain demographics and dramatic, bad economic outlook but has a really big military, right?
So I would like to think that the Top Men are seriously thinking about what that might involve.
But, to be honest, I’m not very impressed with the Top Men and Women at this point.
UPDATE: As seen on Ace of Spades HQ later this morning, a story from the Washington Times but not Bill Gertz: Semper Modify: Marine Corps to undergo ‘radical’ overhaul in pivot to take on China.
But:
Pentagon officials argue that China’s rapidly improving military capabilities make the prospect of a traditional Iwo Jima-type shore landing exceedingly unlikely, and the Corps instead will shift its resources toward becoming a “stand-in” force that can operate within enemy range rather than fighting its way into theater from the sea.
So the Top Men are not planning a battle to liberate Taiwan is what you’re saying.
Top. Men. (And. Women.)
