"We must go faster," US Adm. John Aquilino urged lawmakers repeatedly during a two-hour hearing on security in the Indo-Pacific.
  • US Adm. John Aquilino said China’s military is building up at a rate not seen since World War II.
  • That puts it on the path to meeting its goal of being ready to invade Taiwan by 2027, he said.
  • Aquilino, the outgoing head of the US Indo-Pacific Command, urged Washington to accelerate military development.

China’s rapid military build-up is more expansive than anything seen since World War II, which means it’s on track with its 2027 goal to be ready for a Taiwan invasion, said US Navy Adm. John Aquilino.

“All indications point to the PLA meeting President Xi Jinping’s directive to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027,” Aquilino wrote in a testimony to the US Armed Services House Committee.

“Furthermore, the PLA’s actions indicate their ability to meet Xi’s preferred timeline to unify Taiwan with mainland China by force if directed,” added the admiral, the outgoing head of the US Indo-Pacific Command.

  • Filthmontane@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    9 months ago

    I think you’re misunderstanding. If China were to invade, it would be over quickly. I’m not saying that China wouldn’t have losses in the process, I’m just saying it wouldn’t take long due to the fact that the island is roughly the size of Maryland. To add to that, I doubt the US would actually get involved and would instead just try to sell weapons to Taiwan, just like Ukraine.

    That being said, invasion aside, like as a completely separate course of action, I believe they’d be more likely to take the long term path of embargo. They wouldn’t be bombarding the island, just preventing supplies from coming in or out. They can do this outside of the range of Taiwan’s defenses and Taiwan is incapable of sustaining itself for very long. The war would likely end within a year, the US would probably make a lot of threats, but ultimately wouldn’t sacrifice the US economy for a war with China.

    Now, this is really the most important part. It is well within China’s best interest to not invade Taiwan. They have a symbiotic relationship and the whole situation is just posturing between the US and China and has nothing to do with Taiwan at all.