A former top U.S. defense official has warned lawmakers that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan is “no longer distant” amid rising tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
Charles Flynn, retired general and former commander of the U.S. Army Pacific, also laid out the steps the People’s Liberation Army would need to accomplish such a feat.
Why It Matters
China has vowed to unify with Taiwan, which it considers its territory, though the Chinese Communist Party has never ruled there. Beijing, in recent years, ramped up military activities around Taiwan to punish the island’s Beijing-skeptic ruling Democratic Progressive Party.
U.S. officials believe Chinese leader Xi Jinping has instructed the People’s Liberation Army to be capable of taking Taiwan by 2027, even if he does not necessarily intend to give the order that year. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others in President Donald Trump‘s administration have stressed deterring China means making an invasion as costly as possible.
Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Foreign Ministry via email for comment.
What To Know
In his Thursday remarks at a House hearing focused on the Chinese Communist Party, retired General Charles Flynn, the former commander of the U.S. Army Pacific, told lawmakers that “the threat of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan is no longer distant or theoretical.”
Flynn spoke at a hearing of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. Also testifying were Mark Montgomery, former director of operations at U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, and Kurt Campbell, deputy secretary of state from 2024 to 2025.
Chiang Ying-ying/Associated Press
In a statement prepared ahead of the hearing, Flynn pointed to the enormity of the challenge China would face in mounting an amphibious assault—factors he said help offset the yawning capabilities gap between Taiwan’s military and China’s.
To pull off a fait accompli, Flynn noted, Chinese forces would need to cross the 100-mile Taiwan Strait under heavy fire. Upon reaching Taiwanese shores, they would need to establish—and hold—beachheads.
In Taiwan’s cities, People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops would then face urban warfare against defenders dug into fortified positions. Finally, China would have to achieve all this before the U.S. and its allies could fully commit their forces to an intervention.
Flynn emphasized that while analysts often focus on China’s rapidly growing navy, air force, and rocket force, the country’s ground forces ultimately determine the outcome.
“If the PLA Army cannot land, cannot maneuver, cannot hold ground, and cannot subjugate the people of Taiwan, it cannot win. If we can prevent them from even attempting to cross, we deter the war altogether,” he told lawmakers.
What People Are Saying
Former Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, in an opening statement submitted before the hearing: “Taiwan’s future is deeply intertwined with America’s own—our economies, technologies, and societies are inextricably linked—making a strong and secure Taiwan a vital U.S. strategic interest.
“Meeting this moment requires a whole-of-government approach. Congress, the Executive Branch, and civil society must all play an active role in deepening engagement with their Taiwan counterparts. This includes strengthening our defense and economic partnerships with the Taiwan government, supporting Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations, and expanding educational, cultural, and scientific exchanges.”
What Happens Next
Washington maintains a decades-old policy of “strategic ambiguity” on whether it would come to Taiwan’s defense, which could mean being dragged into the U.S.’s first hot war with another nuclear power.
