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“My opinion is that this problem is much closer to us than most think,” Admiral John Aquilino told the Senate Armed Services Committee, which was considering his appointment as head of the Indo-Pacific Command. the American army.
China considers establishing full control over Taiwan its “number one priority,” Aquilino added.
But Aquilino said Beijing was taking stock of the use of force to achieve Communist Party goals sooner than US planners expected.
Aquilino did not provide an exact time frame on which China could attempt a military takeover of Taiwan, nor did it cite any new or specific information to support its claim.
Mainland China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since the end of a bloody civil war in 1949, but Beijing has vowed never to allow the island to become formally independent and has refused to rule out the use of force if necessary.
“Taiwan is an inalienable part of China,” Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Colonel Wu Qian said in January. “The PLA will take all necessary measures to resolutely defeat any attempt by the separatists for ‘Taiwan independence’ and firmly defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
China is also adamant that its army is defensive.
“The development of China’s national defense is aimed at meeting its legitimate security needs and contributing to the growth of the world’s peaceful forces,” says the 2019 white paper on China’s defense.
Admiral accuses China of ‘aggressive posture’
But Davidson, in his Senate testimony two weeks ago, said the Chinese military had built a force for offensive operations.
“I cannot for the life of me understand some of the abilities they put on the ground unless it is an aggressive posture,” he told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“I see them developing systems, abilities, and posture that would indicate they’re interested in aggression,” Davidson said.
Aquilino said on Tuesday that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was resolutely focused on having everything it needs to bring Taiwan under Beijing’s control.
“The military threat against Taiwan is increasing. The PLA continues to deploy a wide range of advanced weapons and systems as part of the ongoing force modernization, specifically aimed at achieving decisive outclassing against Taiwan,” the LPA said. American admiral in written testimony.
For example, analysts note that Beijing has built a force of warships like helicopter landing docks and large amphibious assault ships that could be useful in taking islands.
Aquilino, the current commander of the US Navy’s Pacific Fleet, has said Washington needs to increase its deterrence capabilities in the Pacific, noting what has been done so far regarding China, including sending ships from American war across the Taiwan Strait and the exercise of double aircraft carrier strike groups in the South China Sea, has not been effective.
“We certainly haven’t changed their desire, or their intention, or their ability to execute the greatest military build-up we’ve seen in some time,” Aquilino said.
Asked by senators about why the United States should defend Taiwan, Aquilino said Washington’s credibility as an ally of countries like Japan and the Philippines was at stake if the island were to fall to the Beijing hands.
“It would negatively impact our position in the region if it happened and it would challenge the rest of our allies and partners and the United States, which would negatively impact our ability to operate freely in the region.” , did he declare.
Aquilino also told senators that a Chinese military presence in Taiwan would give Beijing influence over more than two-thirds of world trade, which passes through sea lanes near the island.
The admiral ended the hearing by asking senators to fully fund the Pentagon’s Pacific Deterrence Initiative, a list of new weaponry and defensive measures to the tune of $ 4.6 billion.
“I think this sends a strong message that the entire United States government is focused on the challenge that we have identified with respect to the Western Pacific,” Mr. Aquilino said.
Biden administration takes firm stance
The Indo-Pacific leadership contender’s comments follow weeks of strong anti-China rhetoric and military demonstrations since the Biden administration took office in January.
During a visit to Japan earlier this month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken listed some of Washington’s grievances against Beijing.
“China uses coercion and aggression to systematically erode autonomy in Hong Kong, undermine democracy in Taiwan, abuse human rights in Xinjiang and Tibet, and claim maritime claims in the South China Sea that violate international law, ”he added. “We will push back if necessary when China resorts to coercion or aggression to succeed.”
The US military, meanwhile, sent its guided missile destroyers through the Taiwan Strait, the waterway separating the island from the Chinese mainland, and challenged Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea with operations. so-called freedom of navigation (FONOPS) – – actions that have intensified in recent years under the command of Aquilino.
China says operations like these show that it is the United States that is undermining stability and increasing tensions in the Indo-Pacific.
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