The US has to pay attention to the pressure that China is putting on Taiwan, even if it is not in a military form, the US’ top general said on Saturday.
US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Charles Brown Jr, made the remarks in an interview with FOX News Sunday anchor Shannon Bream.
“If you look at what happened in Hong Kong and even some of the things that the PRC is doing today...[for example] putting pressure on Taiwan, putting pressure on countries in the Indo-Pacific, whether it be economically or somewhat militarily... We’ve seen continued pressure to wear, in this case, Taiwan down or others down [for] their [China’s]own gain,” said Brown.
Photo: Screengrab from Reagan Foundation’s YouTube channel
In the interview, Bream said a survey showed 73 percent of US citizens were somewhat worried about the possibility of China invading Taiwan.
“You’ve said in the past you don’t think it will be an actual physical operation to take Taiwan. It’s logistically very difficult to do that. But there are other ways that China will pressure Taiwan. So how do you see that playing?” he asked.
“Well, just think about what happened in Hong Kong,” Brown said in response. “The first thing I would say is we want to be, and we all should be, worried whether it’s going to happen or not. And [this is] part of the reason why deterrence is so important, so that conflict does not occur.”
Earlier the same day at the Reagan National Defense Forum at Simi Valley, California, the US’ top general said he is still waiting to hear back from China about resuming military-to-military ties as the two countries seek to stabilize their fraught relationship.
“The opportunity to have dialogue, whether it’s with our allies and partners or with our adversaries is really important,” he said. “With our adversaries, it’s to prevent miscalculation.”
Brown added he believes the US still has an edge over China when it comes to cyber capabilities and artificial intelligence.
“As I read our intel, I feel pretty confident about our capabilities across not only cyber but AI and other technologies,” he said.
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