U.S. war planners have already begun preparing for a potential conflict with China over Taiwan. Last summer, the U.S. and Australian troops practiced amphibious landings, ground combat, and air operations.
Officials in the United States told Reuters that the high-profile Talisman Sabre exercises had a far more discreet value: They helped create new stockpiles of military equipment that were left behind in Australia after the drills ended in August.
The preparation behind the United States military drills stems from the growing concern that in the coming years, Chinese President Xi Jinping could order his military to seize Taiwan, the democratic government island China considers its territory.
As the military took a hard look at their readiness, they focused on a critical area: its logistic network. The equipment from Talisman Sabre included roughly 330 vehicles and trailers and 130 containers in warehouses in Bandiana, in southeastern Australia, the Army says.
The United States military has not acknowledged the amount of equipment. Reuters reported that it's enough to supply about three logistics companies, with as many as 500 or more soldiers, centered on ensuring supplies reach warfighters. The supplies are the material needed for a future drill, a natural disaster, or a war.
"We're looking to do this more and more," Army General Charles Flynn, the top Army commander in the Pacific, told Reuters in an interview.
"There are several other countries in the region where we already have agreements to do that," he added, without naming specific countries.
Reuters interviews with more than two dozen current and former U.S. officials found that American military logistics in the Pacific is one of the greater U.S. vulnerabilities in any potential conflict over Taiwan.
According to Reuters, officials said the U.S. is trying to spread its military logistics hubs across the region, including warehouses in Australia. Officials from the Pentagon stated that the Department of Defense is working with allies to make U.S. forces more mobile and distributed.
What Will America Do?
The U.S. has not formally confirmed it would intervene if China were to attack Taiwan, but President Joe Biden has suggested he would deploy U.S. troops to defend the island on more than one occasion.
In July, the Biden administration announced the United States would also create an interim logistics center in Bandiana, Australia, to eventually create an "enduring logistics support area" in Queensland. According to an internal U.S. military document seen by Reuters, the facilities in Bandiana could hold more than 300 vehicles and had 800 pallet positions.
Per Bloomberg, China has said a victory by Donald Trump in the 2024 Presidential Election could implicitly lead to the U.S. abandoning Taiwan.
"The U.S. will always pursue America first, and Taiwan can change from a chess piece to a discarded chess piece at any time," Chen Binhua, spokesman for the office in Beijing that handles matters related to the island, said at a regular press briefing on Wednesday.
Bloomberg reported China frequently suggests that the U.S. isn't a reliable partner for Taiwan, a gimmick they use to undermine the island's confidence and ability to withstand an invasion.
