Pentagon will continue to strengthen security cooperation with Taipei, despite vocal objections from Beijing, a top US general said, warning against a Chinese attack on the island.
Speaking at an event held by the Economic Club of New York on Wednesday, US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley underscored that Pentagon will support Taiwan’s military with both weapons and training, accusing at the same time Beijing, which considers the island part of China’s sovereign territory, of seeking global military superiority.
The American general stressed that the US is committed through the Taiwan Relations Act, referring to US legislation outlining the relationship with Taipei, reiterating President Biden’s statement on many occasions recently that the United States will continue to support Taiwan.
Although Washington formally recognizes the One-China policy, US officials have increasingly been treating Taiwan as a sovereign nation in defiance of Beijing.
President Biden even promised Taipei on several occasions that the US military will help it repel a potential Chinese invasion, but White House aides have walked these statements back every time.
Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen claimed last year that US servicemen were already training troops on the island but declined to specify how many Americans were deployed.
While there’s no indication that China might attack Taiwan in the immediate future, general Milley went on to claim that President Xi Jinping is recalculating what China might do, adding that preparing an attack and actually carrying one out are two different things.
Noting that an assault across the Taiwan Strait would be really difficult, Milley said that Beijing is slowly coming to realize that, stressing a key talking point repeatedly echoed by US officials, that China is America’s top competitor and security concern.
He pointed out that the US is fine with competition, but warned Beijing that if China wants conflict, then that would be a really bad choice.
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