It’s looking increasingly like China will invade Taiwan, as Xi Jinping’s totalitarian state builds up army groups, naval resources, military aircraft, and massive weapons stockpiles in Chinese cities and bases near the Taiwan Straight. When exactly the Red Chinese will give the “go” order is unclear, but it seems likely that Chinese Marines will soon be storming the beaches of Formosa as J-11 jets roar overhead and destroyers pound the rocky cliffs with cruise missiles and naval gunfire.
What is clear, however, is that the US military is dangerously exposed in the region thanks to Biden’s shifting of naval and Air Force resources to take on and harass and old enemy: Cornpop.
You see, a Chinese military buildup would seemingly lead to one of three US responses, or some combination thereof.
The most obvious response would be to send the Taiwanese all the munitions they need to resist Red China, much as is now being done in the Ukraine. That means sending them anti-ship cruise missiles to hit CCP naval vessels and transports trying to cross the Taiwan Straight, anti-aircraft missiles to blast Chinese jets, attack helicopters, and troop transport helicopters out of the sky, and anti-tank missiles to hit Chinese tanks and amphibious assault vehicles with, along with missile batteries with which Taiwan could fend off Chinese ballistic missiles.
The other two responses would be to either a) flood the region with US military forces to deter China or b) withdraw US forces to safe havens from which they could later strike back against China following its opening moves against Taiwan.
Shockingly, Biden hasn’t done any of that. Instead, he sent most of the 7th Fleet’s best vessels, including aircraft carriers, top-of-the-line Aegis Block III-equipped Arleigh-Burke destroyers, and even a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser on a trip from Guam to the western coast of Mexico for an operation targeting his old pool menace, a fellow known only as “Cornpop”.
Though details about the operation are still scarce, the Navy is apparently using the surveillance planes on board the carriers to try and find Cornpop, believed to be hiding somewhere in the region, while the guided missile destroyers are there to hit him with cruise missiles if he is found. There are also SEAL teams on board one of the carriers, but the current plan is apparently to use cruise missiles rather than ground forces to avoid a diplomatic incident with Mexico.
Not only is the gargantuan search and destroy operation costing taxpayers $1 billion a day, it’s also left the US military dangerously stretched and exposed in the Pacific, as all of the Navy’s best assets are now near Mexico rather than Guam or Taiwan. Were the Chinese to attack, the Navy would have to cross the entire Pacific to fight rather than just sail from Guam to strike back.
Biden reportedly described that risk as “worth it” when the Joint Chiefs raised concerns because, in his words, “Cornpop is a bad dude.”