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Top US commander fears Chinese invasion of Taiwan by 2027
Democratic and self-ruled Taiwan lives under constant threat of invasion by authoritarian China, whose leaders view the island as part of their territory and which they have vowed to one day take back.
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Admiral Philip S. Davidson (L), Commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, shakes hands with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Abe's office in Tokyo on June 21, 2018.
(Agence France Presse/Kazuhiro Nogi)
C
hina could invade Taiwan within the next six years, as Beijing accelerates its moves to supplant American military power in Asia, a top US commander said Tuesday.
Democratic and self-ruled Taiwan lives under constant threat of invasion by authoritarian China, whose leaders view the island as part of their territory and which they have vowed to one day take back.
"I worry that they're (China) accelerating their ambitions to supplant the United States and our leadership role in the rules-based international order... by 2050," said Washington's top military officer in Asia-Pacific, Admiral Philip Davidson.
"Taiwan is clearly one of their ambitions before that. And I think the threat is manifest during this decade, in fact, in the next six years," he told a US Senate committee.
Taiwan split from China at the end of a civil war in 1949 and exists under the constant threat of invasion by the mainland.
Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979, but remains the island's most important unofficial ally and military backer.
Donald Trump embraced warmer ties with Taiwan as he feuded with China on issues like trade and national security.
