‘Poison Frogs’: US Urged to Make Taiwan Islands Too ’Painful' for China to Seize in Response to War Game Results

Three US-made AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopters take part in the annual Han Kuang military drills in Taichung on July 16, 2020. Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images

The United States would have little recourse if China invaded one of the minor islands controlled by Taiwan, according to a new report by Center for a New American Security (CNAS), a Washington-based think tank.

The report analyzed the results of a virtual war game carried out by the CNAS Gaming Lab that sought to simulate how the United States, Taiwan, and China would behave if China seized Dongsha, a minor island about 190 miles southeast of Hong Kong.