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Washington — Washington Defense A senior ministry official said Monday that he had not changed his assessment on the timeline for a possible military takeover of Taiwan by China, sticking to previous statements that Beijing would not seek to take Taiwan over the next two years.
China announced new military exercises near Taiwan on Monday, ending Beijing's largest planned military exercise in the region to protest last week's visit to Taiwan by the speaker of the US House of Representatives. The day after, it drew the concern of US President Joe Biden. Nancy Pelosi.
Colin Carle policy when asked if the Pentagon's assessment that China will not retake China militarily within the next two years has changed since Mr. Pelosi's visit. The Undersecretary of Defense said:
"It's clear that the People's Republic of China is trying to coerce Taiwan, and it's clear that they're trying to coerce the international community. It won't work," Karl said.
In November, the U.S. military commander-in-chief warned that China could militarily take Taiwan over the next few years, despite the military developing the ability to force its retake of Taiwan. He said it was unlikely that he would try to take over.
Officials have privately said they do not believe China is military ready to fully occupy Taiwan by 2027.
Pelosi's visit infuriated China, which responded with test launches, intercepting ballistic missile launches over Taiwan for the first time, and abandoning some dialogue with Washington, including on military and climate change issues.
Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said China, which claims the autonomous islands as its own, is deliberately causing the crisis. It required Beijing to "turn back from the edge".
Carl said US forces were expected to pass through the Taiwan Strait in the coming weeks. (Reporting by Idris Ali and Christopher Gallagher; Editing by Chris Gallagher and John Stonestreet)
