Photo: Andy Dunaway/USAF/Getty Images
A four-star US Air Force general warned Friday of the possibility of a conflict with China as soon as 2025 – most likely over Taiwan – and urged his commanders to push their units toward maximum operational readiness for a battle that year.
In an internal memo first posted on social media Friday and later confirmed as genuine by the Pentagon, Air Mobility Command leader Gen. Mike Minihan said the primary goal should be to deter “and, if required, defeat” China.
“I hope I’m wrong. My gut tells me that we will be in combat in 2025,” Minihan said.
Minihan explained that the presidential elections in Taiwan next year would give Chinese President Xi Jinping a pretext for military aggression, while the United States would be distracted by its own electoral race for the White House.
“Xi’s team, motive and opportunity align in 2025,” he added.
The memo also calls for all Mobile Command personnel to go to the firing range, “shoot a magazine” at the target and “aim for the head.”
military exercises
Via email, a Pentagon spokesman responded to an AFP request for comment on the memo: “Yes, it is a fact that he sent that.”
Senior US officials have said in recent months that China appears to be rushing the time frame for taking control of Taiwan, a self-governing democracy claimed as its own by Beijing.
China carried out major military exercises in August last year, which were perceived as an invasion rehearsal after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s defiant solidarity visit to Taipei.
The United States switched recognition of Taipei to Beijing in 1979, but it sells weapons to Taiwan to defend itself.
A growing number of US lawmakers have called for increased assistance, including sending military aid directly to Taiwan, noting that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine requires early preparation.