US Admiral: China Ready to Invade Taiwan by 2027

Facts

• Admiral John Aquilino, the head of the US Indo-Pacific Command, Wednesday warned that China could be ready to invade Taiwan to unite the self-governing island with the mainland by 2027.¹
• In prepared testimony to the US House Armed Services Committee, Aquilino claimed that 'all indications' point to the Chinese military meeting President Xi Jinping’s alleged preferred timeline to annex Taiwan.²
• He further said China is expanding its military at a rate 'not seen since WWII,' adding that the People's Liberation Army expanded its arsenal by more than 400 fighter aircraft and 20 warships while doubling its missile inventory within three years.³
• This comes as Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu accused Beijing of constructing 'enormous' military bases on three islands around Taiwan's main holding in the disputed South China Sea — an islet in the Spratly Islands that Taipei refers to as Taiping.⁴
• When asked whether it's true that US troops were permanently deployed on Taiwan's remote Kinmen Island to train Taiwanese troops, Aquilino refuted recent news reports, telling the committee there's 'no permanent stationing of US forces there.'⁵
• Addressing relations between China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran, Aquilino warned of an emerging 'axis of evil' and called on Washington to 'act accordingly.'⁶

Sources: ¹Forbes, ²Bloomberg, ³Business Insider, ⁴Nikkei Asia, ⁵Focus Taiwan and ⁶Washington Examiner.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by VOA. This is the latest reminder that Beijing is serious about annexing Taiwan by military force if necessary. Furthermore, the deepening ties between China and the authoritarian regimes in the region are clear evidence that developments in Europe and the Indo-Pacific are increasingly intertwined. To protect the rules-based international order, the US and its allies must prepare militarily for this rising threat.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Global Times. The US alarmism is baseless and only serves to maintain the Chinese threat narrative and distract from America's hostile foreign policy and its military build-up in Taiwan. Washington's militaristic zero-sum mentality also extends to countries that pose no threat to the world but rattle Washington's crumbling hegemony. The US must abandon its irrational path, adhere to the one-China principle, and stop meddling in China's internal affairs.

Predictions