“China is not a future threat; China is a threat today,” a US Air Force official said on Monday, citing military exercises conducted by Beijing that were apparently in preparation for a hypothetical blockade and invasion of Taiwan.
US Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall told a convention organized by the Arlington, Virginia-based Air & Space Forces Association that China continues to invest heavily in capabilities, operational concepts and organizations designed to defeat the US and its allies’ ability to project power in the western Pacific, the US Department of Defense said in a report.
Based on his observation of the development of China’s military over the past 15 years, China has moved toward larger and more sophisticated exercises tailored for an invasion and blockade of Taiwan, the report quoted Kendall as saying.
Photo: Bloomberg
Kendall delivered the keynote address on the first day of the three-day Air, Space & Cyber Conference.
China has deployed weapons targeting US air bases and aircraft carriers while expanding its nuclear forces and enhancing its capabilities in cyberspace, Kendall said.
“China is not a future threat; China is a threat today,” he added.
During his visits to the Indo-Pacific region over the past 15 years, countries have expressed concerns over the Chinese military’s growing capabilities and intentions, he said.
These developments do not indicate an “imminent or inevitable” war in the Pacific, “but I am saying that the likelihood is increasing and will continue to do so,” he said.
The US air and space forces are preparing for a potential conflict, he said.
“To prevent conflict, we must be ready; [and] to prevail in conflict, we must be ready,” he said.
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