Andrew Tanner

Why America Can’t Defend Taiwan

Andrew Tanner

Nov 11·15 min read

Basic military geography means that America is no longer able to defend Taiwan from mainland China.

From Reuters, map of the West Pacific and East Asia. Taiwan is a blue dot right next to China, yellow icons show the locations of US and Allied bases, Guam towards the lower center and Hawai’i on the right. Image lacks scale, but Taiwan is about 100 miles from China, Guam and most of Japan 2,000 miles distant.

Here’s the basic, overriding fact to keep in mind about being a so-called superpower separated from every potential battlefield by two vast oceans:

Military power always declines with distance.