China is building its military and nuclear arsenal on a scale not seen since World War II and all signs suggest it’s sticking to ambitions to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027, a top US admiral testified.
Despite Beijing’s economic challenges, its official defense budget has increased by 16% over recent years to more than $223 billion, Admiral John Aquilino, the leader of the Indo-Pacific Command, told the US House Armed Services Committee in prepared testimony on Wednesday.
In the three years since he took command, he said the People’s Liberation Army, or PLA, has added more than 400 fighter aircraft, along with more than 20 major warships. It’s also doubled its inventory of ballistic and cruise missiles since 2020, he said.
“All indications point to the PLA meeting President Xi Jinping’s directive to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027,” Aquilino said. “The PLA’s actions indicate their ability to meet Xi’s preferred time-line to unify Taiwan with mainland China by force if directed.”
The Chinese military has also been rehearsing various tasks linked to operations against Taiwan such as simulating an encirclement with a maritime and air blockade, Aquilino said.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian on Thursday said Taiwan is China’s internal affair and accused Washington of causing division in the Asia-Pacific region.
“Some people in the US have been trying to hype up the China-threat narrative to escalate tensions across the strait and instigate confrontation. We firmly oppose that,” he told reporters during a regular press briefing in Beijing.
China’s defense budget is still much less than that of the US. President Joe Biden this month proposed a $850 billion Pentagon budget for fiscal 2025. That includes $500 million to replenish weapons that would be provided to Taiwan in a “first-time funding request” seeking to “address aggression in the region and ensure continued support to ou