US couldn’t repair battle-damaged ships in war with China, study finds

RAND's finding that the US Navy lacks repair capacity and surge logistics for a Taiwan war directly undermines the US ability to sustain operations in defence of Taiwan and protect allied navies including Australia's. This exposes a critical vulnerability in AUKUS Pillar II commitments and Alliance (Pillar 7) credibility: if US naval forces cannot regenerate combat power in theatre, Australian submarines and surface vessels operating alongside them face increased attrition risk and reduced allied naval mass during the decisive phase of a Taiwan conflict.