Review by Martin Koenigsberg
In 1975, when I was focused on High School, Chiang Kai-shek passed away. With him went all real hope that the plucky anti Communist KMT would retake the larger China back from the Chinese Communist Party. Now- after decades of acceptance of a “wayward province” for its business advantages, the Chinese seem to want to bully the Island state. When I heard they were often doing it with large Aerial “Military Maneuvers”, I felt like learning more about competing Air Forces in the South China Sea. Roy Choo and Peter Ho are both Military journalists with a focus on this competition, and provide a good quick run down of Taiwanese Assets and Capabilities in this book packed with photos and tables. A strong offering in this series from Harpia Publishing. The Taiwanese are capable, and have some great US and European weapon systems, but they clearly need more. If they really want to ensure their independence, they will need more and newer aircraft, as well as a whole lot more drone capability. I will certainly hope they add air to air refueling as a capability, be it from older or more recent technology. With the example we have of the Ukrainian War of Independence, we know that their AA Missile Capability will need augmentation as well. Luckily they are not a poor nation and have the cash on the barrelhead to buy from US, European and Israeli sources. I feel the Military History buff and the more general audience reader will both get value from a book like this. All the adult themes are political, and there are no graphic injury passages, so this is a book for the Junior Reader over 11/12 years with an eye for aviation. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast this book is a real goldmine, especially if this Region’s Militaries are new to you. The gamer has all the background needed to develop their own scenarios for Aerial combat or strategic games. The Modeler gets a tonne of great colour pics of various schemes now in use. The Military Enthusiast gets a sober (and sobering) evaluation of the Assets and Capabilities of the Taiwanese Air Force. The General Reader might find some of the detail a bit much, but will enjoy the broader strokes and the great images.
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