Admiral Philip Davidson expresses concerns over Beijing’s growing military ambitions in Asia.
China could attempt to invade Taiwan within the next six years, according to a top US military officer, as Beijing accelerates its plans to challenge American dominance in the Asia-Pacific region. Admiral Philip Davidson, the head of US military operations in the Asia-Pacific, expressed concerns during a Senate armed services committee hearing on Tuesday, stating that Taiwan is a key part of China’s broader ambitions to replace the United States as the dominant global power by 2050.
Davidson warned that the threat to Taiwan is imminent, with Beijing possibly taking aggressive action within this decade. “I worry that they [China] are accelerating their ambitions to supplant the United States and our leadership role in the rules-based international order… by 2050,” he said, noting that Taiwan is likely to be one of the first targets in this strategy.
Taiwan, a democratic and self-ruled island, has been under constant threat from China, which views it as a breakaway province and has vowed to reunify it with the mainland, by force if necessary. The US military’s top officer in the region expressed grave concerns about the growing tension, particularly over smaller Taiwanese islands that remain vulnerable to Chinese aggression.
