The commander of the US Airlift Command warned of the risk of conflict with China in the next two years, calling on the Chinese forces to increase their combat readiness.
“I hope I’m wrong. My intuition tells me that conflict will break out in 2025. Chinese President Xi Jinping is continuing his third term, while Taiwan will elect its leader in 2024. Elections The president of the United States also takes place in 2024 and distracts the country. Everything is right for Xi in 2025,” General Mike Minihan, commander of the US Air Force Command (AMC), said. in an internal memo disclosed on January 27.
AMC spokesman Zachary Boyer confirmed the memo shared online was genuine, but did not comment on the content mentioned by General Minihan. AMC is in charge of the US Air Force’s mechanical transport and refueling aircraft, and a variety of related tasks.
General Minihan visits Travis Air Force Base, California, USA, in November 2022. Photo: USAF.
In the memo, General Minihan asked his subordinates to increase the combat readiness of soldiers, including improving gunnery training to lower targets in the shortest time.
“We have built a winning foundation in 2022, while 2023 will improve our ability to operate on that foundation. AMC needs to act faster, strengthen combat readiness, synergies and flexibly operate with ourselves and coalition forces, to deter and defeat China if necessary,” he stressed.
Chinese officials have not commented on the report.
China has always considered Taiwan as a province awaiting reunification and declared its readiness to use force if necessary. The US is committed to respecting the “One China” principle, but continues to maintain relations with Taiwan and provides the island with modern weapons.
Joseph Trevithick, a military columnist for Drive, called General Minihan’s comments “clearly fierce”. However, many senior US officials have also recently suggested that China is accelerating the process of withdrawing Taiwan by force, saying this could happen before 2027.
Vice Admiral Karl Thomas, commander of the US Navy’s 7th Fleet, admitted in September 2022 that Beijing was capable of deploying forces to surround the island of Taiwan. The Chinese military has faced many difficulties in inter-service cooperation, which is a modern fighting method. This is considered a potential weakness for the Chinese armed forces, but Thomas said Beijing has made a lot of progress in this area.
General Clinton Hinote, deputy commander of the US Air Force in charge of strategy, late last year warned that the Pentagon would do everything to prevent China from taking back Taiwan by force, turning it into one of the military operations. hardest in history. “I hope they realize that the US will not let the flow of Chinese logistics continue if that happens,” he said.
Vu Anh (Theo AFP)