Recently, a warning rang out from a U.S. Navy Admiral that China could be preparing for an invasion of Taiwan on a much faster timescale than previously expected, making the claim that the Chinese almost always follow through with their threats and promises faster than normally expected.
As the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Mike Golday put forth the alert as he was speaking this past Wednesday at the Atlantic Council’s Forward Defense’s Commander’s Series. The statements took place directly on the heels of the historic Chinese Communist Party’s 20th Party Congress, during which an extremely concerning and dark warning was issued by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the small island nation as he once again secured another stint of complete control over China.
“When we talk about the 2027 window, in my mind that has to be a 2022 window or potentially a 2023 window,” expressed the Admiral. “I can’t rule that out. I don’t mean at all to be alarmist by saying that, it’s just that we can’t wish that away.”
While at the Party Congress just over a week past, President Xi called out Taiwan, sounding the call for his idea of “reunification” and even making the claim that his nation is more than willing to utilize force if needed to carry out its goal, stating they “reserve the option of taking all measures necessary.”
“The wheels of history are rolling on towards China’s reunification and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” stated Xi as part of the opening address he issued before the party congress. “Complete reunification of our country must be realized.”
The Admiral stated that he was prioritizing “making sure the ships we are fielding today are as ready as they can be” and went on to state that Congress is currently looking into a shipbuilding budget of $27.5 billion.
“It’s how the Chinese behave and what they do,” explained Gilday when questioned about the congress of the Communist party, going further, “What we’ve seen over the past 20 years is that they have delivered on every promise they have made earlier than they said they were going to deliver on it.”
Officially the Republic of China, Taiwan has been governed independently from mainland China for quite a few years, starting back in 1949. China has currently been pushing its “One China” policy, claiming that Taiwan is nothing more than just a piece of China. A survey carried out by National Chengchi University out of Taiwan back in 2021 discovered that the vast majority of people in Taiwan, roughly 62%, thought that they were “exclusively Taiwanese,” as reported by the Council on Foreign Relations. While the other side of the coin, roughly 32%, thought themselves to be both Chinese and Taiwanese.
Taiwan has been constantly under threat by China, especially in the aftermath of the election of Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen, who runs under a Democratic Progressive Party which leans more toward a stance of full independence from China.
As explained by the Department of State, the position expressed by the United States regarding Taiwan is that it opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side,” going further to say that the U.S. does not support independence for Taiwan, fully expecting “differences to be resolved by peaceful means.”