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The CIA boss said Chinese President Xi Jinping had instructed his country’s military to be ready for an invasion of Taiwan. Photos/Illustrations
WASHINGTON – President China Xi Jinping has instructed his country’s military to be ready for an invasion of Taiwan . This was disclosed Director of the intelligence agency United States of America (AS), CIA William Burns.
Burns made the remarks last Thursday at an event at Georgetown University, where he also said he believed Xi Jinping had been closely watching Russian President Vladimir Putin’s prolonged and costly invasion of Ukraine.
Beijing has been engaged in a tense territorial dispute with Taipei, which China claims as part of its territory.
Read: China: US Military Expansion in Asia Exacerbates Tension
“On Taiwan, I think our assessment at the CIA is that I would not downplay President Xi’s ambitions with respect to Taiwan. He’s been very clear about that for many years,” Burns said.
“I think he has been watching very carefully – we think – Putin’s experience in Ukraine and is also a little unsettled and aware of it,” he added.
“We know intelligence that he has instructed the People’s Liberation Army to be ready by 2027 for a successful invasion,” he continued.
“Now that doesn’t mean that he decides to invade in 2027, or any other year, but it does remind him of the seriousness of his focus and ambition,” Burns added.
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“Therefore, I think it’s very important for us as a matter of policy in the United States to be clear about our commitment to the status quo, to make clear we as a country are not interested in changing that status quo, that we are strongly opposed to anyone trying to change it unilaterally, especially by using force,” the CIA director said.
“And to continue to do everything we can to help Taiwan defend itself and figure out how best to do that to prevent conflict which is really unfortunate for everyone involved, including China as well,” he said. 2/2023).
Burns’ comments come as more than a dozen Chinese military aircraft and four naval vessels were detected in the vicinity of Taiwan early Friday, Taipei defense officials said.
Read: Dozens of Planes, Chinese Military Ships Detected in Taiwan Waters and Air
(ian)
