Report: Top US military doubtful of 2027 Chinese invasion of Taiwan

US Joint Chiefs chairman urges stronger regional deterrence against China

There is no indication China will attack Taiwan by 2027, U.S. Joint Chiefs chairman General Mark Milley said on Friday (June 30).

Despite Chinese President Xi Jinping’s call for the Chinese military to prepare for an invasion of Taiwan by 2027, there is no evidence he has made a decision, Milley said. This provides the U.S. and its allies an opportunity to build up deterrence and show China that military action would be unwise, Voice of America cited him as saying.

“You want to make sure that every single day, President Xi wakes up and says, ‘Today is not that day,’ and that that decision never comes,” he said. Milley added that as long as the U.S. and its partners are able to maintain a military advantage over China, Beijing will not make a move on Taiwan.

“The faster we move out, the faster we can retain military superiority, then I believe the theory of the case is we are more likely than not to deter war from happening, and if war does happen, we will prevail,” he said.

The chairman hit back against criticism of Washington’s policies regarding the Taiwan Strait, saying the U.S. and its allies are able to aid both Ukraine and Taiwan, despite an overlap of weapons and ammunition required. “There are other allies and partners out there [to help Taiwan]. It’s not just the United States,” Milley said.

Former Taiwan Chief of the General Staff General Lee Hsi-ming said on Friday (June 29) that China is dead set on annexing Taiwan regardless of the outcome of next year’s presidential election. Without the annexation of Taiwan, Beijing cannot claim it has achieved “the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” and therefore, Xi’s thinking and his overall plan will not change, he said.

Amid increasing cross-strait tensions, Taiwan has been beefing up its defense by domestically developing weapons and purchasing arms from the U.S. The U.S. State Department approved the potential sale of US$440 million worth of ammunition and logistical support and equipment to Taiwan

The package includes 30 mm high explosive incendiary-tracer rounds, engineering technical services, spare and repair parts for vehicles, weapons, and “other related elements of program support,” according to a Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA)