The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States, Charles Brown, recently stated that the U.S. has the capability to win a war against the Chinese Communist Party if Beijing attempts to seize Taiwan.
During his participation in the Aspen Security Forum, Brown was asked whether the U.S. military could defeat the Chinese Communist forces in the event of a war in the Taiwan Strait. He responded by saying, “Yes, I have confidence in our forces.”
“We are the world’s most lethal and revered fighting force. Every country I have visited wants to be like us,” he said. “We must set an example. If we come into conflict with China, we must respond with the full force of the nation. If we are challenged by the People’s Republic of China (PRC), we will fight back.”
Regarding how a U.S.-China war would unfold, he mentioned that the war would be as brutal as World War II. He believed that Chinese leader Xi Jinping was focusing on logistical preparations for a potential invasion.
U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, speaking at the Aspen Security Forum, described a war in the Taiwan Strait as a “disaster for everyone,” emphasizing that maintaining peace and stability in the region is crucial to U.S. policy. When asked whether the U.S. should strengthen its military presence in the Indo-Pacific region, Sullivan stated that the U.S. has been enhancing its partnerships with allies in the region.
Citing partnerships with Australia, the Philippines, and Japan, Sullivan stated that “the combined efforts will have a substantive effect on the U.S. actual presence and power distribution in the region,” adding that it is not to incite war but to prevent it.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during an online interview with The Atlantic’s editor Jeffrey Goldberg, mentioned that the Taiwan Strait crisis has garnered global attention because it is not merely an internal issue as claimed by China but a global concern.
Blinken pointed out that half of the world’s commercial container shipping passes through the Taiwan Strait daily, and most of the semiconductors required globally for products like smartphones, dishwashers, and cars are produced in Taiwan. Any crisis in Taiwan due to Chinese aggression would have “catastrophic consequences for the world economy and countries worldwide.”
He previously warned China that starting a war in the Taiwan Strait would be a serious mistake.
According to Defense News, the U.S. is in the final stages of approving nearly $2 billion in security aid to the Indo-Pacific region, part of broader efforts to help countries fend off Chinese aggression, including a significant $1.2 billion aid package to Taiwan.
Last month, the U.S. approved a $360 million arms sale to Taiwan, which includes hundreds of armed drones, missile equipment, and related support materials.