The United States House Committee on China issued an urgent message recently stating that the window of opportunity to prevent war in the Indo-Pacific region is becoming extremely narrow. Experts analyze that this message does not necessarily mean that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will launch an attack on Taiwan in the short term, but rather indicates that the U.S. Congress is increasingly focusing on the CCP’s potential military invasion of Taiwan, strongly urging the U.S. government and military to do their utmost to deter the CCP.
The Committee on China of the House of Representatives released a press release on May 21, revealing that during a congressional hearing held last week, Committee Chairman John Moolenaar bluntly stated, “2027 is not an American date, it is a Chinese date.” He was referring to Xi Jinping’s order for the CCP military to be prepared to take Taiwan by force by 2027.
Moolenaar stated, “We are not seeking war, but trying to prevent war. It is only effective to prevent war when Xi Jinping sees the cost of aggression as exorbitant and unbearable.”
Other members of the hearing, former senior U.S. military officials, and former senior U.S. government officials all testified urging the current Trump administration to take immediate action, establish allied ground forces, strengthen Taiwan’s defense, enhance U.S. cyber infrastructure, and expedite arms deliveries to Taiwan.
Republican U.S. Congressman Zach Nunn recently mentioned in an interview with NTD that, to his knowledge, U.S. Indo-Pacific Commander Samuel Paparo has a “ticking clock” plan for deterring, stopping, and responding to a Chinese military invasion of Taiwan.
Researcher Shen Mingshi of the Taiwan Institute for National Defense Security told reporters that recent events involving the CCP, whether in surrounding Taiwan with military exercises or assisting Pakistan against the Indian Air Force, demonstrate the strengthening of the CCP’s military capabilities and its increasingly apparent military intentions.
He explained that the sense of urgency mentioned by the House Committee on China and the “ticking clock” urgency mentioned by Indo-Pacific Commander Paparo do not necessarily mean that the CCP will attack Taiwan soon, but rather that “the U.S. Congress and U.S. military are taking the issue of the CCP’s potential military invasion of Taiwan more seriously.”
Regarding predictions on when the CCP might attack Taiwan, Shen Mingshi noted that some think tanks suggest it could happen within six months, in 2026, 2027, or even after 2027. These assessments aim to continuously emphasize the threat posed by China to Taiwan, urging Taiwan to promptly increase its defense budget and enhance its defense capabilities.
Furthermore, Shen Mingshi emphasized that both the U.S. Congress and these think tanks are currently eager to voice out the importance of the security of Taiwan and the Taiwan Strait to U.S. national interests. There is a hope that President Trump will pay more attention to the security issues in the Taiwan Strait since it seems he has not prioritized this matter.
Despite viewing the CCP as the top threat to the U.S., Trump has been busy mediating the ceasefire in Ukraine and Middle East reconciliation on the international stage.
Shen Mingshi stated that both parties in the U.S. Congress strongly emphasize the issue of Taiwan’s security, without partisan divisions on this topic. They believe Trump should consider “restraining the CCP’s external expansion or military threats” as a top priority in his governance.
Dr. Chung Zhi-dong from Taiwan’s National Institute for National Defense Security mentioned to reporters that Trump is eager to end the conflict in Ukraine and even reduce the commitments to European security, hoping that Europe can take responsibility for its own security. This way, “the U.S. can focus its main resources on countering the security threats posed by the CCP in the Indo-Pacific region.”
Chung Zhi-dong stated that the U.S. Secretary of Defense has made preventing a CCP takeover of Taiwan and strengthening America’s military preparedness the top priority. This reflects that “the entire global strategic focus of the Trump administration has shifted to the Indo-Pacific region, primarily to counter the threat posed by the CCP.”