Supreme US General: If Chinese mainland military action against Taiwan, the United States can repel it
Source: Global Network
What signal is the top general of the US military sending to China?
According to a report by the Russian Satellite News Agency on the 18th, Mark Milley, the top general of the US military and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in an interview on the 17th local time that the United States should do its best to avoid an "open armed conflict" with China and not repeat the mistakes of a "great power war". But he also claimed that if Chinese mainland launches military action against Taiwan, the United States "has every chance of repelling this attack." The Chinese Foreign Ministry has long refuted Milley's remarks.
Mark Milley, top general of the U.S. military and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Russian Satellite News Agency reported that Milley said in an interview with CNN that "we should do our best to avoid an open armed conflict with China", and he also claimed that the United States has participated in two "wars between great powers", that is, two world wars, and the United States cannot repeat the mistakes of the past.
The report also mentioned that when talking about the situation in the Taiwan Strait, Milley declared that if Chinese mainland launched military action against Taiwan, the United States "has every possibility of repelling this attack." But Milley also said Washington wanted "a peaceful outcome" across the strait.
Milley's statement came in an interview with CNN, which reported that Milley was about to retire at the end of this month, in which he also mentioned issues such as the ongoing counteroffensive in Ukraine.
Two warships are moving
It is worth noting that Milley has previously made similar remarks on the Taiwan issue. On November 3, 2021, Milley was asked whether the United States had the ability to "defend Taiwan" and claimed that the United States was "absolutely capable" to do so. In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that the US side has been making negative and wrong words and deeds related to Taiwan for some time, which has fueled the arrogance of the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces and boosted the tension in the Taiwan Strait. The Taiwan issue concerns China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and involves China's core interests. No one should underestimate China's firm determination and will to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity. We will never allow anyone or any force to separate Taiwan from the embrace of the motherland in any way.
Wang Wenbin said that the United States should pursue a real one-China policy, not a fake one-China policy; We should honor our commitments to China and not renege on our promises; The one-China policy should be truly implemented into action, rather than saying one thing and doing another. We urge the US side to fully understand the high sensitivity of the Taiwan issue, abide by the one-China principle and the provisions of the three Sino-US joint communiques, handle Taiwan-related issues prudently and properly, and refrain from sending any wrong signals to the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, so as not to seriously damage China-US relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
Further reading
Media: China sanctions two US military enterprises There is a very unusual place
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning announced at a regular press conference on the 15th that the St. Louis, Missouri branch of the Lockheed Martin Company of the United States, as the main contractor, directly participated in the US arms sales to Taiwan on August 24, and Northrop Grumman Company participated in the US arms sales to Taiwan many times, and according to the "Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law of the People's Republic of China" China decided to impose sanctions on the above two US military industrial enterprises.
What weapons did these two US military-industrial enterprises provide to Taiwan?
Lockheed Martin is the largest military giant in the United States, and has been repeatedly sanctioned by China for arms sales to Taiwan. Bloomberg said that because of its long-term participation in arms sales to Taiwan, Lockheed Martin has been sanctioned by China several times, and China has also issued a fine of nearly 100 billion yuan. In February, China's Ministry of Commerce escalated sanctions against the company for overdue refusal to pay fines, placing it on an unreliable entity list that barred all of the company's senior executives from entering, working, staying and residing in China.
But the old driver noticed that unlike several previous sanctions against Lockheed Martin, this time the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs very clearly identified the reasons for the sanctions and the specific branches of sanctions, which is very unusual.
The "Legion" pod on the Lockheed Martin promotional material
"US arms sales to Taiwan on August 24" should refer to the "infrared search and tracking system" approved by the US Congress to sell F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan, abbreviated as "IRST device" in English. Taiwan trumpets that the device can be used to search for infrared signals of air fighters at long distances, and can passively detect targets such as stealth fighters without actively exposing their own location, so it is "an artifact to deal with PLA J-20 fighters."
To say more, the IRST device that Taiwan regards as a treasure, for the current main fighter of the PLA, whether it is the J-20, J-16 or J-10C, it has long been "standard".
The US "Power" website previously mentioned that the US side did not disclose the specific model of IRST device provided to Taiwan, and Lockheed Martin has developed a multi-type IRST device, including the "Legion" pod carried by F-15 and F-16 fighters, and the IRST device modified by F/A-18E/F fighters using drop tanks. According to the United States, the IRST device provided by Lockheed Martin will be used on the F-16V fighter of the Taiwan military, so it will most likely be a "legion" pod.
According to documents previously released by the Pentagon, the "Legion" pod for the F-15 fighter was manufactured, installed and tested in St. Louis, Missouri and Orlando, Florida, which also proved that the IRST device obtained by Taiwan was the "Legion" pod. The St. Louis, Missouri branch of Lockheed Martin was sanctioned for this, which is really a "precision strike"!
The B-21 stealth bomber is a product of Northrop Grumman, which of course cannot be bought in Taiwan
The reason why Northrop Grumman was sanctioned was "many times participating in the sale of weapons to Taiwan by the United States." Netizens familiar with the US military industry know that the US military industry giant is famous for developing stealth bombers, a new generation of intercontinental missiles, aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines - of course, Taiwan cannot buy such high-end goods from the United States, but the company is also a contractor for multi-type missiles and radar equipment, and many of the weapons Taiwan has obtained from the United States in recent years have the shadow of Northrop Grumman.
"Volcano" anti-tank minelaying system
For example, the F-16V fighter of the Taiwan Air Force is the use of Northrop Grumman's AN/APG-83 active electronically scanned array radar; The E-2T early warning aircraft currently in service in the Taiwan military and the E-2D early warning aircraft that the heart wants to introduce are also products of Northrop Grumman. By the way, the United States announced the supply of the "Volcano" anti-tank minelaying system to Taiwan in December last year, and Northrop Grumman is also one of the main contractors.
The United States has crossed another "red line" on the Taiwan issue US media: It will anger China
The Biden administration announced on August 30, local time, that it will provide military aid worth a total of about $80 million to our Taiwan region through the so-called "foreign military financing plan" for the first time. Many US media have mentioned in their reports that "this move will anger China." So, since it knows that it will "provoke China", why does the United States do this?
US media said that the US move will anger China
This shows that Washington has always been determined to provoke China on the Taiwan issue, and it is very clear in its heart that these moves are serious violations of the one-China principle and the three Sino-US joint communiques, and it is impossible not to be aware of the serious consequences they have caused to the situation in the Taiwan Strait. The United States is carefully setting a trap full of blades for Taiwan and laying flowers and preserves to lure the already ghostly DPP authorities into trapping. Whether it is Biden's first use of the "presidential appropriation power" to provide military aid to Taiwan at the end of July, or the first time to provide military aid to Taiwan through the so-called "foreign military financing plan" this time, it shows that Washington is impatiently applying the model of military aid to Ukraine to Taiwan.
A bad precedent breaker is that US "foreign military financing programs" are often arranged for sovereign independent states, and the US Congress has previously approved up to $2 billion in annual aid to Taiwan for the next five years. Although the amount this time is not much, the nature of its behavior is both bad and serious, which means that the United States has crossed another threshold and crossed a red line in interfering in Taiwan. The United States has gradually hollowed out the one-China principle by cutting sausages, and its increased means of intervention and the intensification of interference are tantamount to the brewing and gradual approach of a deadly storm for Taiwan.
The data shows that Taiwan has been the largest buyer of US weapons since 2020, and US arms sales to Taiwan can be said to be constantly escalating, and now it has played a new trick. Free military aid to Taiwan is like a giveaway designed by an old traitorous seller, who is not only eyeing the gold dollars in Taiwan's pocket, but also the geopolitical value of "using Taiwan to control China". Through arms sales to Taiwan, the United States has consciously implemented the "porcupine strategy" in the Taiwan region, and what it needs is to turn Taiwan into a warship with a star-striped flag, and the gun port is pointed at the mainland, not only to counter the process of cross-strait reunification, but also to let the US military-industrial complex continue to harvest.
The US military once "placed an order for Taiwan" to buy UAVs
It is worth noting that whether it is arms sales to Taiwan or so-called "aid," what weapons are sold to Taiwan, at what price, when and how much are sold, all have the final say on the United States. The DPP authorities not only do not have any bargaining power, but also do not even have the right to know, and can only wait for Washington's "official announcement". It is said that the Taiwan side only learned that it had ordered 4 drones after seeing the news, and some Taiwanese media people complained, "The United States directly stuffed it, and Taiwan paid for it." Is there a more ridiculous "contract" in the world?
It is a bit simplistic to say whether the US move is "provoking China". China's strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition are obvious, but China's response to the United States' constant provocations on the Taiwan issue can never stop at just expressing its position. One of the main reasons why China has not promised to renounce the use of force is against foreign interference forces. The US investment in the Asia-Pacific region is carefully calculated and considered to be the most cost-effective "investment", but China's strong determination and firm will to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity cannot be "calculated" or deterred by any pressure.
Every time the United States sells or sends Taiwan some weapons that have been eliminated by the US military, the DPP authorities are as excited as if they have won the lottery and are grateful to the United States. The DPP authorities' ambition to "rely on the United States for independence" and their courage to resist reunification are both congenitally inadequate, and they need to constantly have the United States to cheer them up, otherwise they will quickly deflate, even if the price of each boost is extremely expensive. However, the encouragement provided by these weapons is actually a dangerous illusion; they are not just hot potatoes, but bombs that may be detonated at any time, and it is impossible to rely on them to change the balance of military strength between the two sides of the strait and reverse the general trend of reunification. The DPP authorities are heading a dead end, and the more than 23 million people in Taiwan and the island must not be tied to the chariot by the DPP and Washington.