Admiral Harry Harris, former commander of US forces in the Pacific. AFP File
New Delhi: Admiral Harry Harris, former commander of US forces in the Pacific, told Congress that the US ignores the prospect of China invading Taiwan within years “at our peril”, as tensions with Beijing touched a new high after the downing of a Chinese ‘spy’ balloon.
According to a Bloomberg report, Admiral Harris told the House Armed Services Committee at a hearing on Tuesday that China’s intent to take Taiwan is clear.
Harris said his successor Admiral Phil Davidson had in 2021 emphasised the prospect that the People’s Republic of China could invade the democratically ruled island before the Senate.
“My successor at Indo-Pacific Command testified before Congress in 2021 that the PRC could invade Taiwan in six years — that’s 2027,” Harris was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.
“We ignore Admiral Davidson’s warning at our peril,” he added.
Actually, Davidson stopped short of predicting a full-scale invasion in an interview last month with the Japan Times, Bloomberg reported.
“In my mind, that can be many lesser things than an all-out invasion,” he said. “One of those would be the threats to outer islands, and I think it’s a grave security concern of Taiwan’s.”
The Armed Services committee held its first hearing since Republicans took control of the House, with the theme of “The Pressing Threat of the Chinese Communist Party to U.S. National Defense.”
Fresh blow to US-China ties
Harris’ comments come at a time when US-China ties suffered a fresh blow over the shooting down of Chinese ‘spy’ balloon by Washington.
Both the sides were looking for a way to potentially extricate themselves from a low point in ties as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was scheduled to be in Beijing, meeting with President Xi Jinping.
However, the visit was abruptly cancelled as the US and China exchanged angry words about a suspected Chinese ‘spy’ balloon the US shot down.
As fraught as the relationship had been ahead of Blinken’s planned trip, it’s even worse now and there’s little hope for it improving anytime soon.
Even as both sides maintain they will manage the situation in a calm manner, the mutual recriminations, particularly since the shoot-down of the balloon on Saturday that drew a stern Chinese protest, do not bode well for rapprochement.
China surpasses US in IBM count
Republican members of the committee also said they have been informed by US Strategic Command “that China has surpassed the US” in the number of launchers for intercontinental ballistic missiles, which the lawmakers called “a wake-up call.”
“This should serve as a wake-up call for the United States,” said House Armed Services Chair Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), Senate Armed Services ranking member Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo) and Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) in a joint statement.
Harris — who recently visited Taiwan — said the region was at a “precarious crossroad” and said Beijing was engaged in a quest to “intimidate, isolate and ultimately dominate Taiwan.”
Acoording to the report, some China experts have questioned public warnings about a timeline for a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan. They say Beijing would much prefer to absorb the island eventually without the use of force, as Chinese leader Xi Jinping has said publicly.
They also say 2027, the 100th anniversary of the the People’s Liberation Army, is simply a date China has set for its military modernisation goals, rather than a hard date by which it wants to conquer Taiwan.
However, Harris seemed to disagree.
“Xi Jinping has shown us his intent regarding Taiwan time and time again, and shame on us if we ignore him,” Bloomberg quoted him as saying before the House committee.
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