Navy Admiral Warns China Usually Does What It Says It Will Do


There is a new warning coming from a top United States Navy Admiral that indicates that China could very well invade Taiwan a whole lot sooner than was previously thought. The warning adds that the country of China almost always does exactly what they say they are going to do, and it is usually sooner than it was expected.

Admiral Mike Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations, gave the dire warning while he was speaking at the Atlantic Council’s Forward Defense’s Commander’s Series on Wednesday. His comments come right after the historic Chinese Communist Party’s 20th Party Congress.

At this congress, Chinese President Xi Jinping issued an intense warning against Taiwan and he was given another term of full political control of China. 

“When we talk about the 2027 window, in my mind that has to be a 2022 window or potentially a 2023 window,” Gilday said. “I can’t rule that out. I don’t mean at all to be alarmist by saying that, it’s just that we can’t wish that away.” 

It was just a few weeks ago that President Xi spoke with intensity against Taiwan. He challenged that Taiwan and China reunify and then he claimed that his nation was willing to use force to make it happen. President Xi said that they would reserve the option of taking all measures necessary. 

“The wheels of history are rolling on towards China’s reunification and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” Xi said in his opening address at the party congress. “Complete reunification of our country must be realized.”

Navy Prioritizing Obtaining New Ships As China Threatens Taiwan

The Navy admiral indicated that he is prioritizing making sure that the ships the Navy is fielding today are as ready as they can possibly be He also said that Congress is right now considering a $27.5 billion shipbuilding budget. 

Gilday said that over the past 20 years, China has delivered on every promise they have made earlier than it said they were going to deliver on it. 

Taiwan is officially part of the Republic of China, but it has been independently governed since 1949. The nation of China has declared a “One China” policy and has made it clear that Taiwan is not independent officially, but it is a part of China. 

There was a survey done in 2021 by the National Chengchi University in Taiwan, it found that a majority of Taiwanese people believed that they were “exclusively Taiwanese.” In fact, 62% of those who responded indicated this, and only 32% said that they considered themselves both Taiwanese and Chinese. 

China has continually provoked Taiwan over the years and the pace has increased since the election of Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen. His Democratic Progressive Party favors independence from China. 

Recently House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) made a trip to Taiwan and that caused China to make a number of aggressive moves including sending Chinese planes and ships in and around the Taiwan Strait and into the air defense zone of Taiwan. 

The American Department of State has declared that they oppose “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side.” They also noted that the U.S. does not support independence for Taiwan, expecting “differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” 

Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and former Secretary of Defense James Mattis spoke together early last week with Secretary of State Antony Blinken. They said, “there has been a change in approach from Beijing toward Taiwan in recent years.” Blinken continued, saying China is “pursuing unification on a much faster timeline.” 

President Biden reported last month in a “60 Minutes” interview that if “there was an unprecedented attack,” U.S. forces would defend Taiwan. But that statement was later contradicted by the White House.