Link to article: https://apnews.com/article/navy-china-lessons-ukraine-houthis-327713f10c4556467c14c0989f2a4e97
The U.S Navy has been using the conflicts in the Red Sea and the Black Sea to expand combat training in preparation for a potential future clash with China. The battles happening recently have persuaded the Navy to expand combat and training. Lisa Franchetti, the chief of U.S naval operations, is outlining a series of goals the Navy will need to meet in order to combat China. The penultimate goal is to be ready by 2027, as that is when China has planned to be ready to invade Taiwan. Taiwan recently declined unification from the East Asian superpower, something China has threatened to use force over. The U.S has pledged to defend Taiwan should that possibility occur. Franchetti says the Navy can learn from how Ukraine has performed in the Black Sea. Meanwhile, the Navy’s continuous conflict with the Houthis in the Red Sea has also taught them valuable lessons by watching how ships respond to attacks. The Navy is now working on using AI to control the battlespace, and will continue preparing despite China having the naval advantage.
Looking at the article, the information holds a lot of importance. We as readers see that this potentially could involve a war within only the next two years. From a strategic standpoint, the U.S would have issues defending Taiwan at least on the naval side. Even if the Navy has a lot of ships, China has more right now and that trend is expected to continue into the future. Considering that China plans to be prepared to invade Taiwan in 2027, that isn’t a lot of time for the Navy to prepare, even taking the lessons they’ve learned from the Black and Red Seas into account.
The U.S is planning to respond to China’s threat of invading Taiwan with military force. China has threatened to use force the same as the U.S, though it is unclear what tactics the state will use in order to accomplish this. The U.S military branches will have to work together, according to the article, so they can confidently protect Taiwan.