The US’ top military general said he doubts that China is planning on taking Taiwan by force.
Comments from Brown
Charles Q. Brown Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a roundtable with reporters in Tokyo on Friday: “I do think that Xi Jinping doesn’t necessarily want to take Taiwan by force.” However, Brown added that President Xi “will try to use other ways to do this.”
Brown asserted that Washington wanted to serve as “a strong deterrent” to any potential move by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). He called for monitoring things Beijing “might do to put increasing pressure on Taiwan, whether it’s militarily, diplomatically, economically.”
“I do think that Xi Jinping doesn’t necessarily want to take Taiwan by force,” Charles Q. Brown Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters in Tokyo.
— Clash Report (@clashreport) November 10, 2023
“He will try to use other ways to do this.” pic.twitter.com/q8fzOz88gu
Referring to the security situation of East Asia in light of the Gaza crisis, which erupted on 7 October, Brown further assured that the US has not moved any military assets out of East Asia since.
“All the capabilities we have here in the Indo-Pacific under the Indo-Pacific command, we have not touched that capability while we’re focused not only on what’s happening on Europe but the same in the Middle East,” he underscored.
US-Taiwan Relations
Relations between the US and Taiwan have continued to grow stronger as the Biden Administration has made a pivot to the Indo-Pacific region.
China, which claims Taiwan to be part of its territory, has often said it will reunify the island with the mainland with force, if necessary.
In order to deter the possibility, the US has often sold weapons systems to Taipei. Such sales are expected to contribute towards the island nation’s “capability to provide for the defence of its airspace, regional security, and interoperability” with the US.
In multiple instances in the past, China has urged the US to stop approving arms sales to the island, as it views them as unwarranted international support for the island claiming independence from China.