Joint Sword 2024: China's Anaconda Strategy Against Taiwan and Washington's Persistence in Failed Engagement. Captain James Fanell and Bradley Thayer assert that America must urgently reverse its strategic errors regarding China. Fanell notes that China is currently demonstrating aggression toward Taiwan, announcing two days of "Joint Sword 2024 Alpha" exercises conducted very close to Taiwan, inside the contiguous zone. China is using the recent inauguration speech of Taiwan's new President Lai as the casus belli, claiming his equating Taiwan and China as two separate nations constitutes a move toward independence. Fanell expects the operation to include ballistic missiles fired into closure areas, with China practicing targeting key areas, blockading, and isolating Taiwan. The PRC is employing an "Anaconda strategy," increasing pressure and suffocating Taiwan. Bradley Thayer assesses Washington's response, stating that fundamentally, little has changed despite some rhetorical and policy shifts, as the Biden administration remains influenced by the "engagement school." Thayer attributes the persistence of this flawed framework to the PRC's strategy of "elite capture," spanning Wall Street, the Chamber of Commerce, think tanks, K Street law firms, and Congress.
