The author warns that the arms race between China & Taiwan could soon get out of control and expand to include not only conventional weapons but also space-based systems and nuclear missiles, if not defenses against those missiles."
The author argues that China's space program will greatly improve the chances of success for a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. He proposes that Taiwan defend their independence from Chinese space power through passive defense: "deception, hardening, redundancy, and dispersal of military assets".
China's sending a man into space highlights the direction the PLA is headed and military analysts fear Taiwan is being left far behind.
The author discusses the risks of a space war between the U.S. and China during a potential China-Taiwan conflict. Fearing U.S. involvement, China might pre-emptively disable U.S. space assets to prevent deployment of forces to the region.
While mainland China's first foray into manned space flight later this month has more to do with prestige than military ambition, Beijing is developing space-based capabilities that could be used in the event of a conflict in the Taiwan Strait, according to an expert with the U.S. Department of Defense.
Chinese threats against Taiwan ring hollow due to lack of space reconnaissance and anti-satellite attack capability, a new analysis of the East Asian military situation reports. Stratfor Systems, an Austin, Texas strategic research group, says that China?s lack of military space systems poses a growing problem for that country?s attempts at extending its power into the region.