China's Plans To Annex Taiwan On 'Much Faster Timeline' Than Previously Believed, U.S. Leaders Admit
Xi Jinping and Joe Biden.
Oct. 18 2022, Published 12:53 p.m. ET
The United States secretary of state said China's plans to annex Taiwan is on a "much faster timeline" under Xi Jinping, Radar has learned.
Antony Blinken warned that such a move could cause global economic havoc. His comments came as China's ruling Communist party is meeting for its twice-a-decade congress. According to reports, Xi said that plans for Taiwan are an important part of the country's "rejuvenation."
While speaking with former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, Blinken noted how China's approach to Taiawan has changed. For decades, peace and stability had endured, but Xi is taking a more aggressive approach, Blinken told Rice at Stanford University on Oct. 17.
“Instead of sticking with the status quo that was established in a positive way, [Beijing has made] a fundamental decision that the status quo is no longer acceptable, and Beijing is determined to pursue reunification on a much faster timeline,” Blinken said.
“If peaceful means didn’t work then would employ coercive means, and possibly if coercive means don’t work then maybe forceful means to achieve its objective. That is what is profoundly disrupting the status quo and creating tremendous tensions.”
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Tensions between the United States and China have revved up since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. has warned China not to do the same in Taiwan, which China believes is part of its territory.
A visit from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., angered Chinese leaders earlier this year. Since, the People's Liberation Army has ramped up efforts against Taiwan, including military drills near Taiwan's main island.
While it's clear that China plans to take Taiwan, it's unclear the timeline in which it may attempt to do so.
“It is possible that Secretary Blinken is concerned about the pace and scope of China’s military modernization, which clearly is focused on Taiwan, but China’s military capability alone does not indicate intent to use force in the near term,” Drew Thompson, a scholar with the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and former US state department official, told The Guardian.
“That said, Xi Jinping’s intent could change in an instant, where as capability takes years to develop, as does building up Taiwan and US defences against PLA power projection. The considerable time it takes to build defenses is a strong rationale for expressing a sense of urgency.”