My Take | Inflated China threat marks the return of US cold war rhetoric
- Fear and paranoia have to be drummed into the public, at least those in the West but especially the United States, all the time and everywhere, as part of an all-of-government strategy in Washington
Pentagon generals are doing their best to imitate the predictive performance of American writer Gordon G. Chang. Since the publication of his infamous The Coming Collapse of China in 2001, he has been predicting the imminent demise of the country every year.
More recently, the honchos at the US Defence Department are taking turns to forecast a date for mainland China’s invasion of Taiwan. The latest comes straight from General Mike Minihan, chief of the US Air Mobility Command, who has set a date for war between China and the United States over the island in 2025.
“My gut tells me we will fight in 2025,” the four-star general wrote in a “leaked” memo. “Xi [Jinping]’s team, reason, and opportunity are all aligned for 2025.”
This has become a regular ritual from the Pentagon. Last March, when he was still head of US Indo-Pacific command, Admiral Philip Davidson told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the mainland could try to seize Taiwan “in the next six years”.
In October, Admiral Michael Gilday, chief of US naval operations, was even more specific. He said it could have happened in November or December, or this year. But he also hedged his prediction, saying it could take place any time up to 2027.
Meanwhile, President Tsai Ing-wen and her pro-secessionist Democratic Progressive Party have been more than happy to play along, as they aim to irreversibly turn the island into a satellite territory and military launching pad of the US.
