How The Philippines makes the Invasion of Taiwan so difficult: The Bashi Channel

5am on the Bashi Channel and two Chinese j-11 aircrafts have just entered taiwan's air defense identification zone for a routine Patrol this has become a common sight in recent years but why what are these aircraft searching for in these Waters and why is such a remote channel between Taiwan and the Philippines located more than 300 miles from Chinese Shores the center of such attention [Music] well the short answer is that the Bashi channel is a critical hot spot for both China and the USA and there are two main reasons for this first in the event of an invasion of Taiwan the Bashi channel would become a crucial point of operations second it is a vital location for Force projection along China's Maritime borders the Strategic importance of the Bashi channel is further compounded by the fact that it is a major bottleneck for Global sea trade and the majority of the underwater internet cables connecting Southeast and South Asia with North America and Japan all of these factors make the Bashi channel one of the most strategic yet lesser-known choke points in the indo-pacific region rivaling the Malacca and Taiwan Straits for the title of the most strategic point but let's take a step back and take a closer look at the Bashi Channel's importance in the china-u.s confrontation in two main areas the possible invasion of Taiwan and force projection in the South China Sea when Chinese military leaders prepare for the invasion scenarios of Taiwan they look at two key geographical features The Towering mountains that divide the island into two halves and the three choke points that separate Taiwan from the rest of the world the first choke point is the yonaguni channel to the north which spans for around 70 miles and separates the island Formosa from Japan's westernmost Point yonaguni Island where by the way Japan will set up cruise missiles for the first time this year the second choke point is the Taiwan Strait which is the most important of the three at its narrowest it spans about a hundred miles and separates Mainland China's fujin Province from taiwan's West Coast the third and final choke point and the focus of this analysis is the Bashi Channel Which is less than 90 miles wide and separates taiwan's southern tip from the Philippines island of amyanen the archipelago's northernmost point for China thinking about possible Invasion strategies of Taiwan this Channel presents itself as one of the most critical and perhaps lesser-known choke points and this is for one big reason supply lines taiwan's largest port is gaussian which sits right close to the Bashi Channel this port is not only ranked as the world's 15th largest container Port but also handles the majority of oil products and bulk cargo on the island while Taiwan has six other major cargo ports gaussian alone accounts for 62 percent of the total cargo volume handled on the island the capacity to bring in huge volumes of supplies in a short amount of time and to have the real estate to store it is critical during an invasion oil products such as fuel for tanks bulk cargos like spare engines and machinery and even refrigerated containers for Food Supplies are all essential to the operational capability of troops on the ground for instance a 2002 study on the U.S army revealed that a brigade combat team of three to five thousand units consumed over 500 tons of supplies per day with 90 of that being Fuel and food if Chinese troops were to land on Taiwan they would need to secure gaussian Port facilities and my extension the Bashi Channel C routes to control their supplies and deny external help to Taiwan in Chinese strategic planners have perfectly recognized this at least six live fire drills have been planned around Taiwan in 2022 unprecedentedly two of these have also been scheduled in the South the largest one just off the coast of gaussian also trespassing Taiwanese territorial Waters while the other one right on the Bashi Channel this marks a significant departure from the 1995 to 1996 exercises that took place closer to the Chinese Shores and did not trespass Taiwanese territorial Waters these drills demonstrate that not only is the island of Taiwan itself important but also the Straits north and south of it are establishing supply lines and distributing them are both critical factors in the event of an invasion and this is why pla aircraft frequently fly over the strait training how to identify and deal with other forces in the area and the Bashi channel are therefore as important for Chinese commanders as they are for U.S ones while China would use gaussian as a logistical base in the case of an invasion America would aim to supply taiwan's defense from its pre-positioned bases in the Philippines and Japan in this context the Bashi Channel offers ideal conditions for denying access from the Pacific Ocean into the South China Sea and vice versa the Bashi channel is a crucial International Water passage that serves as the only access point larger than 50 miles from the Pacific Ocean into the South China Sea this has significant implications for both the United States and China in terms of projecting their military power in the region before diving deep into that let's hear a quick word from our sponsor blinkist have you ever wished to squeeze the most useful information out of a book or podcast in just 15 minutes and what if you could do that while taking a walk in the park or commuting to work blinkist is the app for you with more than 5 500 titles across a wide variety of topics all this knowledge is right at the tip of your fingers I personally love the series scientific discoveries you should know which covers pretty much everything between the Big Bang the most recent scientific discoveries what is even cooler is that blinkist gives you some quick tests to check what you've learned from each episode which is quite a Nifty challenge that helps you in the understanding of learned Concepts blinkist has also recently introduced the new blinkist connect feature this allows two different accounts to share blinkist premium plans with no additional cost you can now get 25 off blinker's premium and enjoy two memberships for the price of one so start your seven day free trial now and be sure to check out the link in the description below now back to the video if we look at the Boshi channel from a U.S standpoint we see that this is an ideal Force projection location for two main reasons first it connects the Philippines to Taiwan allowing for shorter supply lines in the event of an invasion this would enable the US to create pincer supply routes from both the South Via the Philippines and from the North Via Japan second the Bashi Channel provides the opportunity to deny the planned Force projection into the open Pacific and by extension the Southern and Pacific coasts of Taiwan this significantly reduces the possible Landing spots available to the PLA and makes their every move much more predictable recent news of four new U.S bases on Northern Luzon Island further improves U.S deterrence capabilities in the South China Sea particularly in terms of having air superiority while the U.S Navy can maintain its vassals in the area for months at a Time air superiority fighter jets can only sustain operations for a few hours and require extensive maintenance facilities therefore either the base follows along with the aircraft like in the case of an aircraft carrier or a land base within the operational range of the Jets is essential as such the new bases in Northern Luzon are crucial in obtaining air superiority over the South China Sea in March 2023 f-22s were deployed in the Philippines for the first time where they conducted joint exercises with the Philippines Air Force this deployment has added unprecedented air coverage of air superiority Jets over the SCS which before this point was mostly visited by long-range surveillance aircraft like p8 or the global hawk this development helps in creating air superiority deterrent especially against the plaaf long-range bombers from the Chinese perspective the recent establishment of U.S bases in the Philippines is a cause for concern for two primary reasons First Chinese planners will have to allocate substantially more resources in the event of a landing on Taiwan and to maintain control of the Bashi Channel and the South China Sea and second the proximity of these bases means that not only Northern Chinese cities but also the majority of Southern ones are now within 600 miles from U.S bases from a strategic perspective China lacks what Chairman Mao often used during the Civil War strategic space this lack of strategic space is a significant issue for China as it leaves them vulnerable to attack in the North U.S bases in South Korea and Japan are less than 600 miles from major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai previously the South China Sea could have been considered China's lake with a pla holding control over its air and sea spaces however the establishment of U.S bases in Luzon has substantially reduced its strategic space leaving major economic and Military hubs such as Shenzhen Hong Kong and zhanjiang within 600 miles of potential attack this situation puts the majority of the Chinese population and industries at risk of being within Tomahawk range greatly Shifting the balance of power in the region China's Maritime border security is further destabilized by the lack of access points larger than 200 miles into the Pacific Ocean the first island chain from China's perspective presents a significant issue as there are only six International Water corridors with four along the Nancy Shoto and the other two north and south of Taiwan however only two passages are larger than 50 miles namely the Miyako Channel between the island of Miyako and Okinawa and the Bashi Channel these choke points are critical in allowing connection between China's Shores and the open ocean foreign to better understand China's strategic situation let's imagine a similar situation closer to the American perspective if we consider a first island chain running from the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico all the way up to the Bahamas the island of Cuba could be Taiwan and the two Straits north and south of it would be yonoguni and the Bashi Channel respectively if China had tens of thousands of troops deployed there along with stealthy Jets destroyers and long-range ballistic missiles just a few fuels from U.S Mainland it theoretically blocks sea Lane routes running from the Gulf of Mexico out to the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans the last time something similar happened was in 1962. and the world came a hairs breath away from a nuclear war from this perspective it becomes clear why the Bashi channel is such a strategic point for Beijing the Philippines and the Bashi channel are essential in allowing the control of the main door from the Pacific Ocean into the south of China therefore it is crucial for China to maintain control over this area to ensure its strategic space and Maritime border security this store is not only important for China's strategic projection but also serves as a major conduit for global data traffic in fact an astounding 97 to 99 percent of all data passes through the submarine cable network with abashi Channel serving as a primary bottleneck for data transmission between Asia and North America this underwater cable network is responsible for transmitting a vast array of information including files photos military and Industrial secrets and more as tensions between the U.S and China continue to escalate new cables are being laid on the sea floor in anticipation of potential conflicts however the cutting of these cables can have devastating consequences as demonstrated by The Cutting of two internet cables connecting Matsu islands with Taiwan in early March 2023 the disruption of communication can be a powerful tool in Modern Warfare by creating a smoke screen that delays the response to a military attack The Cutting of these cables can have significant impact on the first phases of conflict foreign Philippines and Bashi Channel have become a crucial hot spot in the ongoing U.S China confrontation this is due to their strategic location in close proximity to two key areas the South China Sea and Taiwan however it is important to consider the power dynamics at play in Manila undoubtedly the Marcos Administration played a pivotal role in facility a permanent and structured logistical presence of the U.S in the South China Sea and to the south of Taiwan but the question remains how long will the U.S be allowed to maintain its presence on the archipelago Beijing is determined to deny this strategic advantage to Washington and it remains to be seen what will happen in the next presidential elections if a new deterred were to gain office what would happen to the balance of power created under Marcos would U.S troops still be permitted to remain the Divergent positions between both presidents indicate that a political U-turn is likely to occur after the next presidential elections and this is the weak Link in the first island chain foreign however regardless of political shifts geography is a constant factor that will continue to play a critical role in the U.S China confrontation for generations to come the Bashi channel in the Philippines will remain essential players in this ongoing power struggle I really hope you enjoyed this video as much as I did and thank you so much for watching hope to see you at the next one ciao thank you

Channel: Kamome

Views: 2,841,789

Keywords: documentary, narration, geopolitics, science, map, map animation, international relations, strategy, narrated documentary, geography, politics, China, Taiwan, US, Japan, geopolitics of asia, Taiwan politics, Taiwan strategy, infographic, narrated video, China-US, geopolitics of the Philippines

Id: WRK2NuzVtH8

Length: 15min 46sec (946 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 30 2023

Reddit Comments

[u/mainsail999]

Bashi Channel host a portion of the SOSUS. Those Chinese SSBMs and SSNs get detected so far as they head out into the Pacific.

This area would really play a big role in the event a conflict with China happens.

[u/theonlyjacknicole]

Just watched this yesterday! Quite insightful and detailed analysis.