The U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released a 34-page annual “Global Threat Assessment Report” on Wednesday, March 18th, evaluating that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) currently does not have a plan to invade Taiwan in 2027. Beijing is more inclined to achieve control over Taiwan without the use of force. In response, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council stated that Taiwan will not relax its state of readiness based on the report, and the military always prepares for the worst-case scenario.
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, March 19th, the report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence explicitly stated that the Chinese Communist leaders “currently do not plan to invade Taiwan in 2027, nor have they set a fixed timetable for achieving ‘unification’,” but at the same time, Beijing has not ruled out the possibility of using force when necessary and continues to seek to counter American influence in the Taiwan Strait.
The report mentioned that Beijing sees the annexation of Taiwan as a goal that must be accomplished by 2049, the 100th anniversary of the CCP’s seizure of power.
It also pointed out that the Chinese leadership is well aware of the high difficulty of amphibious landing on Taiwan, the great risk of failure, especially in the event of U.S. military intervention.
At the same time, the report highlighted that the Chinese military has been continuously developing the operational capabilities required for the annexation of Taiwan and updating their operational plans. However, despite advancements in Chinese military power, progress in various aspects is uneven.
Deputy Minister Liang Wen-chieh of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council responded on Thursday to the report, stating that Taiwan will not relax its vigilance just because the assessment suggests that the CCP has slowed down its military invasion schedule, and the military always prepares for the worst-case scenario.
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States stated that Taiwan will continue to monitor China’s movements and “remain vigilant at all times.”
The representative office emphasized that the CCP has never given up the use of military force against Taiwan, and its continuous military intimidation and actions in the gray area pose a serious threat to regional peace.
A Taiwanese security official pointed out that the significant purge within the Chinese military leadership and frequent weapon performance issues are reasons why the CCP has quietly postponed Xi Jinping’s initial deadline of attacking Taiwan in 2027.
The report from the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence also issued warnings about the various threats posed by the CCP. U.S. National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard stated during a Senate hearing on Wednesday, March 18th, that China, along with Iran, Russia, and North Korea, is developing multiple missile systems that “put the continental United States within their striking range.”
The report also highlighted that China is the “most active and persistent” source of cyber threats faced by the United States and is the “most competitive competitor” in the field of artificial intelligence, aiming to surpass the U.S.’s leadership position in AI by 2030. It has surpassed Russia and become the primary competitor in the space domain.
The report described Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks last year about Japan potentially making a military response if something happens to Taiwan as a “major shift” for a sitting Japanese prime minister.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara of Japan expressed objections to this on Thursday, March 19th, stating that the assessment is “not accurate,” and Japan’s position remains unchanged.
Sanae Takaichi arrived in Washington on Thursday for a meeting with former President Trump.