Adm. Sam Paparo, the commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet, has in effect told China to “bring it on” with respect to a blockade of Taiwan. China certainly has “the number of vessels, and the capability at sea to execute a blockade,” Paparo told a group of reporters accompanying Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Hawaii, last week, Nikkei Asia Journal reported. “The question that follows is ‘Do the allies have the capability to break that blockade?’ And the answer to that is a resounding yes.” Paparo expressed confidence that Washington could do so even on its own, citing its volume of firepower and “superiority in key domains,” likely a reference to nuclear submarines and other undersea forces.
But a U.S. defense official briefing reporters on background wasn’t so sure. The PLA exercises following House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August, he said, forced civilian vessels and aircraft to change their routes. “That’s a pretty significant impact on normal activities,” the official said.
