China is unlikely to use military force to seize Taiwan in the near future, but the communist regime does pose a serious threat not only to the self-ruled island but also to the United States, said Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Nov. 3.
“Based on my analysis of China, I don’t think that it is likely in the near future—being defined as 6, 12, maybe 24 months, that kind of window,” Milley said in response to the question of whether China was preparing to make a move on Taiwan in the near future.
Milley made the remarks while speaking at the Aspen Security Forum, an annual three-day security and foreign policy conference presented by Washington-based Aspen Strategy Group.
“Having said that, though, the Chinese are clearly and unambiguously building the capability to provide those options to the national leadership, if they so choose, at some point in the future. But near future, probably not. But anything can happen,” he added.
The communist regime in China sees Taiwan as part of its territory to be taken by force, if necessary. Its leader Xi Jinping has said previously that he wants to apply the regime’s governance model in Hong Kong, known as the “one country, two systems,” in Taiwan, as a way to bring the island under the reign of Beijing.
Taiwan, a de facto independent country with its own military, democratically-elected officials, and constitution, has been facing China’s coercion for years. Beijing has held military exercises in its coastal waters and flown military jets into the island’s air defense identification zone as a way to intimidate the island.
In October, Taiwan’s defense minister warned that China will be capable of mounting a full-scale invasion of the island by 2025.
Currently, Washington and Taipei are not formal diplomatic allies. However, Washington is required by the Taiwan Relations Act to provide the island with military equipment for its self-defense.
Milley also said that the United States has the capability to defend Taiwan.
“We absolutely have the capability to do all kinds of things around the world, to include that if required,” he said. “There’s no question about that.”
China’s military has changed drastically in the last 40 years years, Milley said, and the communist regime is not hiding its ambition.
“So 40 years ago, it was a very large infantry that was peasant-based and mostly army. Today, it has capabilities in space, cyber, on land, sea, air, underseas; and they are clearly challenging us regionally,” he said.
“They’ve been very clear about that. They have a China dream, and they want to challenge the so-called liberal, rules-based order that went into effect in 1945 at the end of World War II. They want to revise it.”
In other words, Milley said the Chinese regime “wants to revise the international order to their advantage.”
“That’s going to be a real challenge over the coming years, in the next 10 to 20 years. That’s going to be really significant,” he said.
From The Epoch Times
