“My opinion is that this problem is much closer to us than many people think,” Admiral John Aquilino said before the Senate Armed Services Committee, which was reviewing his appointment to lead the Indo-Pacific Command of the United States Armed Forces. United.
China regards the establishment of full control over Taiwan as its “number one priority,” added Aquilino.
But Aquilino said Beijing was establishing a history of using force to achieve the Communist Party’s goals earlier than American planners had predicted.
Aquilino did not provide an exact timeline for when China could attempt a military takeover of Taiwan, nor did he quote any new or specific information to support his claim.
Mainland China and Taiwan have been governed separately since the end of a bloody civil war in 1949, but Beijing promised never to allow the island to become formally independent and refused to rule out the use of force if necessary.
“Taiwan is an inalienable part of China,” said Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman, Colonel Wu Qian, in January. “The PLA will take all necessary measures to resolutely defeat any attempt by the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists, and will firmly defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
China also insists that its armed forces are on the defensive.
“The development of China’s national defense aims to meet legitimate security needs and contribute to the growth of the world’s peaceful forces,” said the country’s 2019 white defense paper.
Admiral accuses China of ‘aggressive stance’
But Davidson, in his Senate testimony two weeks ago, said the Chinese military had formed a force aimed at offensive operations.
“I can’t understand some of the capabilities they are putting on the field for anything, unless it is an aggressive stance,” he told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“I see them developing systems, capabilities and an attitude that would indicate that they are interested in aggression,” said Davidson.
Aquilino said on Tuesday that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is strongly focused on having everything it needs to bring Taiwan under Beijing’s control.
“The military threat to Taiwan is increasing. The PLA continues to deploy a wide range of advanced weapons and systems as part of the ongoing modernization of the force, with the specific objective of achieving a decisive defeat against Taiwan,” said the Admiral of the United States. USA in written testimony.
For example, analysts note that Beijing has been building a force of warships, such as helicopter landing docks and large amphibious assault ships that can be useful for taking islands.
Aquilino, the current commander of the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet, said Washington needs to increase deterrence capabilities in the Pacific, noting what has been done with China so far, including sending US warships across the Strait. Taiwan and the exercise of two carrier strike groups in the South China Sea was not effective.
“We certainly haven’t changed his desire, intention or ability to carry out the largest military buildup we’ve seen in a while,” said Aquilino.
Asked by senators why the US should defend Taiwan, Aquilino said Washington’s credibility as an ally of places like Japan and the Philippines is at stake if the island falls into Beijing’s hands.
“It would have a negative impact on our position in the region if that happened and would challenge the rest of our allies and partners and the United States, negatively impacting our ability to operate freely in the area,” he said.
Aquilino also told senators that the Chinese military presence in Taiwan would give Beijing dominance of two-thirds of global trade, which passes through sea routes close to the island.
The admiral ended the hearing by asking senators to fully fund the Pentagon’s Pacific Deterrence Initiative, a $ 4.6 billion list of new weapons and defensive measures.
“I believe this sends a strong message that the entire United States government is focused on the challenge that we have identified and that applies to the western Pacific,” said Aquilino.
Biden administration takes a firm stand
Comments from the Indo-Pacific command nominee follow weeks of strong anti-China rhetoric and military displays since the Biden government took office in January.
During a visit to Japan earlier this month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken listed some of Washington’s complaints with 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 enforce maritime claims in the South China Sea that violate international law,” he added. “We will retreat, if necessary, when China uses coercion or aggression to get what it wants.”
Meanwhile, the US military has been sending its guided-missile destroyers across the Taiwan Strait, the waterway that separates the island from the Chinese mainland, and challenging Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea with so-called Freedom of Navigation operations. (FONOPS) – – actions that have intensified in recent years under the command of Aquilino.
China says operations like these show that it is the US that undermines stability and raises tensions in the Indo-Pacific.