New Delhi, Nov 19 (IANS) The Chinese military is now at or near the capability to invade Taiwan, according to a US Congressional report, the Daily Mail reported.
“The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has already achieved the capabilities needed to conduct an air and naval blockade, cyberattacks, and missile strikes against Taiwan,” according to a report from the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, a Congressionally-appointed agency designated to provide national security and economic advice to the Congress and the US President.
“PLA leaders now likely assess that they have, or will soon have, the initial capability needed to conduct a high-risk invasion of Taiwan if ordered to do so by CCP leaders. They will continue enhancing this capability in the coming years,” it said.
The report found that PLA’s current sea and air lift capacity could launch an initial landing force in Taiwan of at least 25,000 troops, the Daily Mail reported.
“Given these developments, it has become less certain that US conventional military forces alone will continue to deter China’s leaders from initiating an attack on Taiwan,” the report found.
The Commission argued that China is most likely to invade Taiwan if it believes the US “is not militarily capable of or politically willing to intervene, or if they interpret ambiguities in US policy to mean that opportunistic Chinese aggression against Taiwan will not provoke a decisive US response”.
The report found that Chinese President Xi Jinping had a high tolerance for risk and a desire to establish a lasting legacy, which could outweigh his concern for US warnings against attacking Taiwan, the Daily Mail reported.
It found that China’s nuclear buildup puts it on a trajectory to become the “nuclear peer” of the US in quality, and a peer in quantity of land-based strategic missiles by 2030.
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