The admiral leading the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command warned that China is building up its military on a "scale not seen since" War World II with the intent to replace America as the main security force in the region, take control of the South China Sea and to realize President Xi Jinping's goal of invading Taiwan by 2027.
China has increased its defense budget by 16% to $223.5 billion over the last couple of years, adding 400 fighter aircraft and more than 20 warships, and has doubled its arsenal of ballistic and cruise missiles, Admiral John Aquilino told the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday.
"Most concerning," he said, is the "rapid pace" in which China has expanded its nuclear arsenal, "increasing its warhead inventory by well over 200% since 2020."
"All indications point to the PLA meeting President Xi Jinping's directive to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027," Aquilino told the lawmakers, referring to the People's Liberation Army. "Furthermore, the PLA's actions indicate their ability to meet Xi's preferred timeline to unify Taiwan with mainland China by force if directed."
Not only is China bolstering its land, sea and air forces, but it also is working to weaponize space.
China "is steadily delivering capabilities that seek to deny the use of our space architecture. Despite statements opposing the weaponization of space, the PRC is developing a range of counter-space capabilities and related technologies, including kinetic-kill missiles, ground-based lasers, and orbiting space robots," Aquilino said.
He said the Chinese leader sees unification with Taiwan as a "historical inevitability" and has been marshaling the country's military, economic and diplomatic powers to convince the international community that "unification is, in fact, inevitable."
Aquilino said Xi stepped up his pressure campaign against Taiwan, which had been going on since 2016, when then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the country in 2022 and China launched expansive military exercises around the island.
Meanwhile, Chinese military forces continued to try to intimidate Taiwan by penetrating its air defense identification zone (ADIZ).
Taiwan's defense ministry said Thursday that it had detected 32 Chinese military aircraft flying near the island in a 24-hour period, 20 of which entered the ADIZ.
It also said five Chinese naval ships were operating around Taiwan.
China views Taiwan, which considers itself a sovereign state, as a "renegade" territory and has vowed to reunify Taiwan with mainland China.
