A Taiwan war would mix containment with nuclear risk

Would a conflict over Taiwan favor containment and attrition or an immediate offensive campaign?

Gradual pressure and attrition may be preferable, although nuclear escalation and Taiwan's strategic position make the conflict exceptionally risky.

The proposed strategy pushes back air defenses, uses submarines to attrit surface forces, and gradually tightens a barrier. China is nuclear-armed and may regard a counter-invasion of Taiwan as an attack on what it considers its own territory. Taiwan's loss would alter access to the Pacific and the wider first-island-chain geography, making the strategic stakes severe. A later follow-up measures shipbuilding by fitting-out and operational readiness rather than launch ceremonies and suggests that securing Taiwan may require forces on the island before a crisis peaks.