Can China Counter United States' 'Hellscape' Plan When Invading Taiwan?

After the new commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral Samuel Paparo, said that the US intends to send the Chinese invasion fleet into an autonomous "hellscape" if it tries to cross the Taiwan Strait, several Chinese analysts say that China can counter this US plan.

The admiral, in an interview with the Washington Post on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, said that he intends to make sure that the Chinese invasion fleet gets into a swarm of autonomous surface, underwater, and aerial suicide drones which he dubbed a "hellscape."

“I want to turn the Taiwan Strait into an unmanned hellscape using a number of classified capabilities so that I can make their lives utterly miserable for a month, which buys me the time for the rest of everything,” the admiral said.

“I can’t tell you what’s in it, but it’s real and it’s deliverable,” the admiral further added.

Analysts based in China believe that China can counter this plan of the United States using its own drones. Military analyst Fu Qianshao said that China has its own plans to counter these swarming tactics of the US.

He points out that China has a much larger aerial drone fleet and the enemy's bases will be left inoperable when China starts its invasion.

“In recent years, China’s military and civilian drones have developed rapidly,” and are on par with US in the field of swarm drones, Fu said, adding that, “the US should not forget that China has the world’s largest drone production capacity. We will also use a large number of aerial robots to deal with our opponents. The Americans should think about how to deal with a larger PLA drone fleet to counter them.”

Moreover, China has its own countermeasure systems which include electronic warfare and some emerging interference methods.

“It is possible for the US to deploy thousands of drones to the Taiwan Strait, but the key is its airbases will be attacked and we have a series of countermeasures, including electromagnetic interference or emerging interception methods,” Fu added.

Another Chinese analyst Song Zhongping also believes that with its advanced AI-powered drones it can counter this plan.

He says, "China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) could deploy unmanned systems using advanced AI technology on a larger scale to counter the US drone swarms."