Adm. John Aquilino, head of the Indo-Pacific Command, said Wednesday that the Chinese military will be in a position to invade Taiwan by 2027, achieving the purpose that U. S. military officials have set for Chinese President Xi Jinping of reuniting Taiwan with mainland China through force if necessary.
Aquilino, who testified before the Republican-led House Armed Services Committee, said “all indications indicate” that the People’s Liberation Army will fulfill Xi’s purported purpose of invading Taiwan by 2027.
Since 2020, the PLA has added more than 400 fighter jets and 20 giant warships, while doubling its ballistic and cruise missiles, according to Aquilino, who said China has spending more than 16% to more than $223 billion.
The Chinese military has simulated operations it would carry out against Taiwan in recent years, Aquilino said, sea and air blockades.
Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence, told the bipartisan House intelligence committee last year that “we don’t assess that China needs to go to war. “Yun Sun, director of the Stimson Center, a U. S. -based think tank, told the Guardian. who believes that “military preparedness” will not prompt China to attack. Xi also told Biden last year that he had not set a timeline for Taiwan’s reunification with China, according to NBC News, citing anonymous resources familiar with the discussions.
Joseph Wu, Taiwan’s foreign minister, said last year that Taiwan “takes the risk of the Chinese military very seriously,” adding that “2027 is the year we want to be serious. “Kyle Amonson and retired Capt. Dane Egli wrote last year that they, too, would be in a position to invade Taiwan by 2027 if reunification is not achieved peacefully. They said Xi will most likely “take steps” to reunify Taiwan with the Chinese government through 2030.
The U. S. and other allies have been preparing in recent years for an imaginable military confrontation between Taiwan and China. Taiwan is a self-governing island that holds direct presidential elections, even though the Chinese government considers Taiwan a “sacred place and an inseparable part” of Chinese territory. Relations between China and the United States have deteriorated in recent years due to intensified communications between the United States and Taiwan. In 2016, President Donald Trump spoke with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen, the first verbal exchange between U. S. and Taiwanese leaders since 1979, according to Reuters. President Joe Biden warned in 2022 that the U. S. military would protect Taiwan if the island were invaded by China, though he indicated earlier this year that the U. S. would not support Taiwan independence.
China Doesn’t Need War With Taiwan, Says U. S. Intelligence Leader Haines (Bloomberg)