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Top US commander claims China may attack Taiwan in next six years

Chinese warships pictured at the end of a joint exercise with the Russian navy in South China Sea (file photo)

A top US commander says China could invade Taiwan within the next six years as part of its plan to take Washington’s world leadership role by 2050.

“I worry that they’re [China] accelerating their ambitions to supplant the United States and our leadership role in the rules-based international order... by 2050,” claimed Admiral Philip Davidson, the US top military officer in Asia-Pacific, during a Senate armed services committee hearing on Tuesday.

“Taiwan is clearly one of their ambitions before that. And I think the threat is manifest during this decade, in fact, in the next six years,” he added.

The top commander also alleged that the expansion of China’s military assets in the region could reduce the so-called US deterrence.

“We are accumulating risk that may embolden China to unilaterally change the status quo before our forces may be able to deliver an effective response,” he claimed. “I cannot for the life of me understand some of the capabilities that they’re putting in the field, unless ... it is an aggressive posture.”

Almost all countries around the world recognize China's sovereignty over Taiwan.

But, Washinton has undermined China's sovereignty over the past years and stepped up arms and military support for Taiwan.

Last week, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on US President Joe Biden to reverse the former administrations' policies on Taiwan.

"We urge the new US administration to fully understand the high sensitivity of the Taiwan issue," Wang said, urging the State Department to "change the previous administration's dangerous practices of 'crossing the line' and 'playing with fire.'"

Biden, however, has not signaled a shift in US posturing vis-à-vis Beijing.


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