War with China ‘not inevitable’, but helping Russia in Ukraine widens conflict: US General Mark Milley

Testimony by outgoing joint chiefs of staff chairman given as Pentagon seeks US$842 billion from Congress, up 3.2 per cent from 2023

Deterring war ‘is extraordinarily expensive, but it’s not as expensive as fighting a war’, says Milley

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Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley arrives for a House Appropriations defence subcommittee hearing in Washington on Thursday. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

Published: 5:25am, 24 Mar 2023Updated: 6:17am, 24 Mar 2023

America’s top general stressed on Thursday that a war with China was “not inevitable”, but predicted that any attempts by the Asian giant to give lethal aid to Russia in its war with Ukraine “will broaden the conflict beyond the region”.

US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley made the remarks during his testimony before the US House Appropriations Committee regarding a 2024 budget for the Pentagon that he described as driven by a strategy to “deter” war. The formal request to Congress totalled US$842 billion, up 3.2 per cent from 2023.

“War with Russia or China is neither inevitable nor imminent,” Milley said, describing Beijing’s actions as “moving it down the path towards confrontation and potential conflict with its neighbours and possibly the United States”.

Deterring war “is extraordinarily expensive, but it’s not as expensive as fighting a war”, the general added.

The assertion came a day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed with the CIA’s assessment that China would be capable of invading Taiwan by 2027.