Today: 31 May 2025
20 September 2021
3 mins read

Former Indo-Pacific commander Davidson warns about risk to Taiwan

During his congressional testimony earlier this year, Davidson said, “I think the threat is manifest during this decade — in fact, in the next six years.”..reports Asian Lite News

Former Indo-Pacific commander Philip Davidson said that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s potential 2027 transition poses threat to Taiwan.

Mikio Sugeno and Tsuyoshi Nagasawa, writing in Nikkei Asia said that Davidson sent shock waves around the world when he nailed down a specific time frame on a possible Taiwan contingency.

During his congressional testimony earlier this year, Davidson said, “I think the threat is manifest during this decade — in fact, in the next six years.”

Davidson, at the time commanding the US Indo-Pacific Command, was asked by a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee in March about a potential conflict in the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen Pic credits Twitter @iingwen

In an interview with Nikkei Asia on Tuesday, Davidson said that he was conscious of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s leadership terms when calculating the timeline.

Xi is widely expected to stay in power beyond the next quinquennial national congress of the Communist Party in the autumn of 2022. But when the party convenes again five years later, in 2027, there could be a transition, Davidson said, which may impact the decision to move to Taiwan.

Regarding the question on the threat in the Taiwan Strait that could materialize in the next six years, he said, “What it means, explicitly, is that the changes in the [People’s Liberation Army]’s capabilities, with their missile and cyber forces, and their ability to train, advance their joint interoperability and their combat support logistics, all those trend lines indicate to me that within the next six years they will have the capability and the capacity to forcibly reunify with Taiwan, should they choose force to do it.”

China is pursuing an all-of-party approach that seeks to coerce, corrupt and co-opt the international community in a way in which they may be able to achieve their geopolitical edge, in what some describe as “the hybrid zone” or “the grey zone” or the “three warfares,” or “lawfare,” any of those things, to force Taiwan to capitulate because of extreme, diplomatic, economic, pressure and strain.

People’s Liberation Army (PLA) (Xinhua_Cheng Min_IANS)

Answering on PLA’s capability, he said that Chinese capability is improving and they are closing the gap with the United States and Japanese forces.

“They are closing that gap with training, by establishing joint command and control structures, and by working the combat support logistics that are necessary there. They’re also advancing their capability sets. That’s principal air, sea, cyberspaces, rocket forces, space forces principally. They did take some risk in their land forces in order to find the funds to advance those capabilities, and they are investing heavily there,” said Davidson.

However, he said that at the moment, US and Japanese forces were in the lead.

Referring to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin order on global posture review to deal with the current challenges, primarily China, Davidson said, “The last three administrations have made it quite clear that the Indo-Pacific theatre is to be the priority theatre going forward. United States needs a more expeditionary posture external to Japan, throughout the Indo-Pacific region, that could help deter peacetime and the day-to-day posture, as well as having places to go in a crisis, to help dissuade PLA adventurism.”

“To be frank, the posture required in the Indo-Pacific needs to be — the expeditionary posture especially — much more robust,” he added.

ALSO READ: Macron to hold call with President Biden

Previous Story

Macron to hold call with President Biden

Next Story

Expo 2020 Dubai to draft roadmap for world’s future

Latest from -Top News

World needs Dubai’s ambition: Morgan

Piers Morgan has hailed Dubai’s transformation as an example of what visionary leadership can achieve. British broadcaster Piers Morgan has praised the extraordinary ambition and vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin

Mohammed honours football champions

Ruler of Dubai hails players as role models during palace reception His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, received the

Abu Dhabi sets 2050 energy vision

Abu Dhabi unveils AED400 billion energy roadmap, inked climate finance pact ahead of 2026 UN Water Conference Abu Dhabi has unveiled a sweeping strategic framework to transform its energy and water sector

Gargash: UAE’s pragmatism sets regional example

Anwar Gargash says the UAE stands as a beacon of what is possible when pragmatism and vision come together. As political instability, economic fragmentation and rapid technological change continue to reshape the

US flag returns to Damascus

Billions in energy deals and lifted sanctions mark Syria’s reintegration, as US reopens embassy and declares the war-torn nation “open for business” under new regional partnerships. The United States has reopened its
Go toTop

Don't Miss

Khamenei blames US, Israel for protests

The unrest, ignited after the death of a young woman

US submarine hits underwater object in Pacific Ocean

The accident happened as tensions between the US and China