Top US commander fears Chinese invasion of Taiwan by 2027
10 March, 2021
China could invade Taiwan next six years, as Beijing accelerates its movements to supplant American army power found in Asia, a high US commander said on Tuesday (Mar 9).
Democratic Taiwan lives in constant risk of invasion by China, whose leaders view the island within their territory and which they have vowed to 1 day take back.
"I worry that they are (China) accelerating their ambitions to supplant the United States and our leadership function in the rules-based international order ... by 2050," stated Washington's top military officer in Asia-Pacific, Admiral Philip Davidson.
"Taiwan is clearly one of their ambitions before that. And I think the threat is manifest in this decade, in simple fact, in the next six years," he advised a US Senate committee.
Taiwan split from China towards the end of a civil battle on 1949. Washington switched diplomatic reputation from Taiwan to China in 1979, but continues to be the island's most significant unofficial ally and military backer.
Donald Trump embraced warmer ties with Taiwan as he feuded with China on concerns just like trade and national reliability.
Biden's administration provides offered Taiwan cause for optimism for continued support apart from the State Department declaring in January that US determination to the island was "rock-solid".
Taiwan's de facto ambassador to the US was formally invited to Biden's inauguration, a great unprecedented move since 1979.
China also offers made expansive territorial claims in the resource-rich South China Sea and even threatens the American island of Guam, underlined Davidson.
"Guam is a focus on today," he warned, recalling that the Chinese armed service released a video simulating an attack about an island basic strongly resembling US facilities found in Diego Garcia and Guam.
He called on lawmakers to approve the assembly over Guam of an Aegis Ashore anti-missile battery, capable of intercepting the most powerful Chinese missiles in air travel.
Guam "needs to be defended and it requires to be ready for the threats that may come in the near future", Davidson said.
In addition to additional Aegis missile defense devices destined for Australia and Japan, Davidson called on lawmakers to budget for offensive armaments "to let China know that the expenses of what they look for to do are too high".
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