Pentagon chief warns of China's military rise; says US to work on supporting Taiwan

While China’s military strength continues to expand, Washington is prepared for competition and is also committed to supporting Taiwan’s ability to defend itself, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the Reagan National Defense Forum (RNDF) on Saturday at Simi Valley, California. Austin stressed that as China continues to build up aggressive defences not seen since World War II, the US remains committed to the "one-China" policy, but will resist any attempts of coercion against the self-administered island Taiwan. 

China 'not 10 feet tall'

Austin told Fox News’ Bret Baier at the Defense Forum, "China is not 10 feet tall,” and that "America is a Pacific power.” "The Indo-Pacific is a region of great opportunity and real challenges. One of those challenges is the emergence of an increasingly assertive and autocratic China,” said Austin. 

Austin emphasised that the US is ready to fight China’s growing belligerence with ‘confidence and resolve’ in order to "support Taiwan's ability to defend itself.” US I faced with “real challenges” that include “the emergence of an increasingly assertive and autocratic China,” Austin warned, adding that Beijing was rapidly enhancing its global network of military bases and bolstering its defence capabilities across missile defences to anti-submarine technologies and will quadruple its stockpile of nuclear weapons by 2030 with more than 1000 nukes. 

"We’re facing a formidable challenge," the US defense chief Austin said in his speech in California on the way back from Seoul.  "In war and in peace we are always stronger when we work together with our friends."

China conducts 'rehearsals' of military operations 

The US is not attempting to build an anti-China coalition or Asian NATO, US Secretary of Defense told the Defense Forum, adding that Washington seeks a peaceful Indo-Pacific region where all countries are "free from coercion.” Biden administration aims to bolster deterrence against Chinese aggression over Taiwan, not change the status quo in the region, Austin said. He then iterated that Washington does not desire a cold war or a world divided into rigid blocks. 

Defense Secretary Austin warned about China’s assertiveness and intimidation tactics against Taiwan via routine encroachment of Taiwan’s airspace by People’s Liberation Army (PLA) fighter jets, bombers, and other warplanes that fly into the island’s “air defence identification zone.” This, according to Austin, could be rehearsals of the military operations against Taipei. China’s recent rapid expansion of its nuclear arsenal has also raised speculations that the communist regime has been bolstering defences to make it harder for the US to intervene in Taiwan discord. 

“It looks a lot like them exploring their true capabilities and sure it looks a lot like rehearsals,”Austin said in a speech at the Reagan National Defense Forum. 

"Integrated deterrence requires us to weave together cutting-edge technology, operational concepts, and state-of-the-art capabilities to seamlessly dissuade aggression in any form, domain, or theater. That means that innovation lies at the heart of American security," Defense Secretary Austin also emphasized.

The Pentagon chief then went on to add that Washington has stepped up the measures to counter the Chinese regional threats, adding that the US is interested in opening the communications channels between the military and diplomats of the two countries for better exchanges. This comes as just last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping told US President Joe Biden in the crucial bilateral meet that any country that supported pro-independence forces in Taiwan was “playing with fire” adding that he had remained “patient” and wanted peaceful reunification.

Image: AP