The Chinese threat to invade Taiwan is serious and more imminent than many understand, the US admiral chosen to lead the Pentagon’s Indo-Pacific region said on Tuesday.
China considers taking control of Taiwan its “No. 1 priority,” US Navy Admiral John Aquilino, nominated to become commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, told the US Senate Committee on Armed Services.
“The rejuvenation of the Chinese Communist Party is at stake” with the Taiwan issue, he said.
Photo: AFP
Aquilino disagreed with recent comments by the outgoing US Indo-Pacific commander, US Navy Admiral Philip Davidson, that China could attempt to take over Taiwan as soon as six years from now.
“My opinion is that this problem is much closer to us than most think and we have to take this on,” he told the panel, which was reviewing his nomination.
Aquilino said that the threat is such that the US needs to implement a proposed US$27 billion plan to boost US defenses in the region “in the near term and with urgency.”
“The Chinese Communist Party has generated some capabilities in the region that are designed to keep us out,” he said. “The most dangerous concern is that of a military force against Taiwan.”
However, Aquilino declined to comment on the suggestion by US Senator Tom Cotton that Beijing could opt to attack Taiwan as early as next year.
Aquilino, currently the head of the US Pacific fleet, said that there are two major concerns if China seized Taiwan: the potential threat to global trade and the damage it would have on the US’ credibility with its Asian allies such as Japan, South Korea and the Philippines.
TPP RALLY: The clashes occurred near the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall on Saturday at a rally to mark the anniversary of a raid on former TPP chairman Ko Wen-je People who clashed with police at a Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) rally in Taipei on Saturday would be referred to prosecutors for investigation, said the Ministry of the Interior, which oversees the National Police Agency. Taipei police had collected evidence of obstruction of public officials and coercion by “disorderly” demonstrators, as well as contraventions of the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法), the ministry said in a statement on Sunday. It added that amid the “severe pushing and jostling” by some demonstrators, eight police officers were injured, including one who was sent to hospital after losing consciousness, allegedly due to heat stroke. The Taipei
NO LIVERPOOL TRIP: Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who won a gold medal in the boxing at the Paris Olympics, was embroiled in controversy about her gender at that event Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) will not attend this year’s World Boxing Championships in Liverpool, England, due to a lack of response regarding her sex tests from the organizer, World Boxing. The national boxing association on Monday said that it had submitted all required tests to World Boxing, but had not received a response as of Monday, the departure day for the championships. It said the decision for Lin to skip the championships was made to protect its athletes, ensuring they would not travel to the UK without a guarantee of participation. Lin, who won a gold medal in the women’s 57kg boxing
The US has revoked Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) authorization to freely ship essential gear to its main Chinese chipmaking base, potentially curtailing its production capabilities at that older-generation facility. American officials recently informed TSMC of their decision to end the Taiwanese chipmaker’s so-called validated end user (VEU) status for its Nanjing site. The action mirrors steps the US took to revoke VEU designations for China facilities owned by Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc. The waivers are set to expire in about four months. “TSMC has received notification from the US Government that our VEU authorization for TSMC Nanjing
CHINESE INCURSIONS, SORTIES: President William Lai thanked military officers for shouldering the responsibility of defending the survival and development of Taiwan President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said that aggression would inevitably fail, pointing — on the day before a mass military parade in Beijing — to the lessons from World War II and key victories Taiwan claims against Chinese forces in 1958. Taiwan has over the past five years repeatedly complained about heightened Chinese military activity including war games around the nation as Beijing steps up pressure to enforce territorial claims that Taipei rejects. Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), flanked by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, are to oversee a military parade in Beijing today to mark the
RSS