Taiwan’s survival and security is key to the United States’ ability to maintain freedom in the Indo-Pacific region. That was the word from former US defense official Randall Schriver on Monday.
Schriver described Taiwan as a modern day Asia “Fulda Gap”. That means it’s strategically meaningful for the region. The Fulda Gap was a region at the borders of East and West Germany during the Cold War. It was the area where the US and Soviet Union would most likely clash if a war were to break out.
Schriver said that Taiwan’s present position in the Indo-Pacific region is what drives the current US administration to support Taiwan. He said this includes the normalization of US arms sales to Taiwan and the recent visits to Taiwan by top US officials.
When asked if China will attack Taiwan using force, Schriver said he believes that China uses its military prowess to threaten Taiwan. But he said he doubts if China is able to invade Taiwan because of Taiwan’s topography and the difficulty of transporting its army across the Taiwan Strait.
Schriver also said he doesn’t believe that China will attack Taiwan during this time while the US is focused on the presidential elections and the COVID-19 pandemic.