Taiwan foreign minister says China will invade Taiwan in 2027

Taipei: Amid solid rumours on China invading Taiwan, the foreign minister of the self-governing island believes China will wait till 2027.

“We are taking the Chinese military threat extremely seriously,” Joseph Wu stated on Thursday while speaking on the LBC radio programme in the UK.

“I think 2027 is the year that we need to be serious about,” he continued.

He voiced optimism that “like-minded alies, including the UK, can prevent China from launching any war against Taiwan.”

Last month, Reuters reported that the British government had authorised a significant increase in Taiwan’s imports of submarine parts and technology in 2022.

It came after the then British prime minister Liz Truss called for a “global NATO” to arm Taipei in a same manner to how the alliance was supplying Kyiv.

According to reports, William Burns, the director of the CIA had made a similar statement on China-Taiwan in February.

He asserted that “President Xi has instructed the PLA, the Chinese military leadership, to be ready by 2027 to invade Taiwan” when appearing on CBS’ Face the Nation.

However, he went on to say that this does not imply Beijing “decided to invade in 2027 or any other year” on its own.

General Mike Minihan, the commander of the US Air Mobility Command (AMC), warned his staff in an internal communication a month before Burns made his remarks that battle for the island might start in two years.

The veracity of the document was confirmed by an AMC spokesperson, but a Pentagon source who wishes to remain unnamed claimed that “these comments are not representative of the department’s view on China.”

Foreign Minister of China Qin Gang issued a warning on Friday, saying that “those who play with fire on the issue of Taiwan will burn themselves.” Beijing “will never yield in the face of any act that threatens China’s sovereignty and security,” he said.

President Xi was cited earlier this month by the nation’s state-run CCTV channel as urging the military to intensify “training oriented towards actual combat.”

Since 1949, when the losing side in the Chinese Civil War fled to the island and set up its own government, Taiwan has been de facto independent.

The US has long maintained tight, unofficial connections with Taipei, both militarily and economically, despite the fact that only a small number of countries have recognised Taiwan as a sovereign state. Washington still formally declares its adherence to the “One-China” tenet.

Beijing views the island, which rebels have taken control of, as an integral part of its territory. The Chinese leadership claims that a peaceful “reunification” is its top priority, but it has not completely disregarded military alternatives.

(With inputs from agencies)
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