Don’t defend Taiwan, end defence treaties with Asian allies, says prominent US analyst

Empty streets during an air raid drill in Taipei on Aug 13. The drill was part of Taiwan’s annual ‘Han Kuang’ military exercise that aims to prepare the island for a potential Chinese attack.

PHILADELPHIA – Days ahead of the upcoming Trump-Xi summit, a prominent American defence analyst has proposed that the US redo its defence posture in Asia to shed strategic ambiguity in favour of non-intervention on Taiwan and scrap its mutual defence treaties with Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Australia.

The US should remove most Army and Marine Corps deployments from Asia and cut air and naval power significantly, said Jennifer Kavanagh, a senior fellow and director of military analysis at Defense Priorities, a Washington DC-based thinktank, that advocates that the US military be used to protect more narrowly defined national interests.