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I am posting a series of YT videos on Chinese strategies to invade Taiwan. I stumbled across Episode 19 while YT surfing and now I am working backwards Episode 19 has a really interesting story line. A must watch. Episode 19 is the last post on this page (for now!) and it starts off with Episode 15 (this post). I will post the subsequent episodes when they are published.
The Next World War | The Quarantine of Taiwan
China launches an invasion of the Kinmen Islands, inciting a reaction from Taiwan that serves to justify the PRC's complete quarantine of the island nation. There’s much to tell in this episode, laying the groundwork for the entire season - so for those looking for beginning-to-end action, this one is a slow-burn. To begin, I wanted to start with China’s “justification” for the quarantine and in a way that would be the most troublesome to Taiwan and its allies. In talking to my network of SMEs, an invasion of the Kinmen Islands - and in particular using unidentified forces (though clearly PRC), would do nicely. The difficult challenge for Taiwan, the US, Australia, UK and Japan would be how to respond without going kinetic. I also wanted to give a peek into the decision making process in Washington, most notably, their debate about Taiwan’s willingness to fight and the US commitment to Taiwan’s defense. Toward that, I wanted to insert a nod to the very small but important US State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), who doesn’t receive much love, but from my own research… does some amazing work. Lastly, a ton of time went into the episode, from pouring through historical documents of NSC meetings, to interviews with subject matter experts, think tank white papers… the list goes on, all before the script, filming and editing even began. To speed up production, the creator of the YouTube Channel, FIXEDIT, offered his valuable time and knowledge of DCS, to film several of the scenes based on my script. A HUGE thank you to him. That, alone, cut my time in filming by a third. Otherwise, this episode would not have gone out until February.
As China tightens its grip on Taiwan, a shadowy undersea Grey War escalates, forcing the United States toward a pivotal decision with deadly consequences. Background: A great deal is happening in this episode. The general idea behind it is that as the quarantine takes effect and with China moving to further isolate Taiwan, both the US and China begin to misunderstand and miscalculate the other and, under increasing pressure, make decisions that will have grave effects in this episode, and more importantly, the next. I also wanted to highlight the local and global economic impacts, the uncertainty of geopolitics when it comes to friends and allies in the region, and the technologies used in undersea ISR and sabotage. And though the script for this episode was planned many months ago... it has been outpaced by real-world current events in the Baltic Sea, North Sea and off Taiwan! It's hard to keep up and keep ahead.
As an allied task force attempts to break the quarantine of Taiwan, missteps and miscalculations place China and the US on a fatal collision course. Background: What if the Berlin Airlift or the blockade of Cuba had not only failed, but ignited a war? This is what was in my mind when preparing for this episode. I also wanted to explore how, despite characters on both sides of the Pacific not wishing war, events can quickly spiral beyond control through miscommunication, mistakes and overconfidence. Lastly, I wanted to take a first, hard look at how fast and lethal a modern naval battle could be - in particular when in such close proximity where the benefits of range and SAMs are reduced. The 1980’s tanker war and the Falklands War both were great resources for this episode.
In the aftermath of the disaster off Taiwan’s coast involving both the US and China, a storm of fury, misinformation and disinformation propels both nations toward fateful decisions, as momentum builds toward war. Background: This is the bridging episode that takes us from China's gamble regarding the quarantine, the US’s attempt to break it, and what comes next: open war. In this episode, I wanted to show how the momentum of events are affecting both sides and a behind-the-curtain look at how decisions were made. Within that, I was also looking to highlight how both sides misread the other while being influenced by their own agendas (personally and politically), as well by misinformation, disinformation and missteps. Definitely on my mind while writing this were events of late spring and summer of 1914 in the weeks leading to World War 1, where once Serbia and Austria-Hungary began to mobilize, momentum took over, spiraling Europe into war. Finally, I wanted to introduce the US Marines unit to the story, who we will revisit in much further detail later in the season! I know this one was a slower-paced episode, but it was really necessary to make that connection to all the episodes coming. In episode 19… things begin to cook.
China carries out a massive, simultaneous and far-reaching attack to blind, confuse, disrupt and eliminate key leadership, infrastructure and defense systems across the Indo-Pacific - including a far-reaching attack that will reach into the very heart of INDOPACOM. Background: I think of this episode as H-Hour (minus 1). It is the attack that will pave the way for the next episode when the missile blitz begins. For this episode I wanted to highlight the vulnerabilities we face through cyberattacks, including how our own vehicles could be used against us. Also, I wanted to show how drones will be used ubiquitously and to illustrate that their reach will be far and used in ways we may not be prepared for (yet). There are no longer 'front lines'.
https://x.com/Varun55484761/status/1986736969284788498
@Varun55484761
China’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian, officially entered into service this week
The Fujian, which features an electromagnetic catapult system for launching and landing aircraft, was commissioned for service on Wednesday
Episode 19 has a really interesting story line. A must watch. Episode 19 is the last post on this page (for now!) and it starts off with Episode 15 (this post). I will post the subsequent episodes when they are published.