The military is well prepared for combat with China, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said yesterday.
Chiu was responding to media queries after US Air Mobility Command Commander Mike Minihan warned in an internal memo that was made public on Friday of a possible conflict between the US and China over Taiwan as early as 2025.
New US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Mike McCaul on Sunday told Fox News that he hopes Minihan is wrong.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
“I think he is right though,” he added.
However, US Representative Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Committee on Armed Services, disagreed with Minihan’s assessment.
Smith told Fox News that war with China is “not only not inevitable, it is highly unlikely. We have a very dangerous situation in China, but I think generals need to be very cautious about saying we’re going to war” or that “it’s inevitable.”
Earlier this month, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said he seriously doubted that ramped-up Chinese military activities near the Taiwan Strait were a sign of an imminent invasion of Taiwan.
Chiu yesterday said that he respects comments made by all experts.
Without commenting directly on Minihan’s prediction, Chiu reiterated the importance of military preparedness.
China staged major military exercises around Taiwan in August last year, after then-US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei.
Asked whether China would react aggressively if McCarthy visits Taiwan later this year as reported, Chiu said that “the ministry is preparing for it.”
The ministry would not make arbitrary judgements, but would take into account all possibilities, he added.
In other news, former commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command admiral Philip Davidson arrived in Taiwan after leaving Japan yesterday, Japanese media reported.
Davidson began planning a visit to Taiwan after retiring in April 2021, but the trip required approval from the US Navy, reports said, adding that he is visiting Taiwan as a private citizen.
Davidson still stands by his previous remarks that China might attempt an invasion of Taiwan by 2027, Kyodo News reported.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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