During a new interview, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman and U.S. General Mark Milley said that the Chinese government thinks war with the U.S. is “inevitable.”
“My analysis of China is that at least their military and perhaps others have come to some sort of conclusion that war with the United States is inevitable,” Milley said.
“I don’t believe war is inevitable,” he added. “I don’t think it’s imminent. But I do think that we need to be very, very pragmatic and cautious going forward and we will reduce the likelihood of war if we remain really, really strong relative to China and China knows that we have the will to use it if necessary.”
Milley’s comments come amid China’s accelerated military development and increased aggression. For example, late last year, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday explained that China’s behavior indicates that it will soon invade Taiwan.
“It’s not just what [Chinese] President Xi [Jinping] says, it’s how the Chinese behave and what they do. And what we’ve seen over the past 20 years is that they have delivered on every promise they’ve made earlier than they said they were going to deliver on it,” Gilday said during an event held by the Atlantic Council.
Gilday continued, “So when we talk about the 2027 window” for an invasion of Taiwan, referencing a prior prediction made by Adm. Phil Davidson in 2021, “in my mind, that has to be a 2022 window or potentially a 2023 window.”
“Combatant commanders have talked about different timeframes, but it’s a very real thing,” Gilday said of the threat of an imminent attempt by China to invade Taiwan.