Antony Blinken says China seeks to be capable of invading Taiwan by 2027, stresses US arms sales
- US secretary of state says that Taipei has the means to buy US defence technology, and that American emergency military funding is supplemental
- Blinken tells lawmakers that China is monitoring how the world has been responding to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday concurred with a US intelligence chief’s assessment that China wants to be prepared to invade Taiwan by 2027.
Later in the day, Blinken played down China’s diplomacy with Russia as a “marriage of convenience,” adding that Beijing has not yet given military aid to it’s “junior partner” Moscow to fight Ukraine.
“In February, CIA Director [William] Burns said that, as a matter of assessment, China seeks to be capable of conducting an invasion by 2027, if so ordered. Do you agree?” Senator Bill Hagerty, Republican of Tennessee, asked Blinken during a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programmes.
“I agree with the assessment, yes,” Blinken responded as he appeared before the panel to testify on the State Department’s 2024 budget request. The agency is requesting US$63.1 billion to address what he described as “acute threat from Russia” and “long-term challenge from China”. Blinken also said on Wednesday that the world was closely watching Russia-China diplomacy.
China considers Taiwan, a self-ruled island, to be a renegade province. US President Joe Biden has several times committed to intervening militarily should China use force against the island, despite America’s long-standing policy of strategic ambiguity.
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Taiwan confirms President Tsai Ing-wen will make US stopovers in coming weeks
Taiwan has become a flashpoint between the two global powers over increased US arms sales and high-level political engagement.