General Kenneth Wilsback, commander of the US Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would attack China’s neighbors if the communist regime actually learned some “important lessons” from the war. Should be suspended.
According to Wilsbach, the biggest lesson should be the “solidarity” of the international community against the aggression and devastating sanctions that the Western government slapped on Moscow.
“We hope that if China recognizes that and launches some provocative attack on one of its neighbors, it will realize something very similar, perhaps even more powerful. Willsbach said Online event Sponsored by Mitchell Aerospace Research Institute on March 14th.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine fuels speculation that Chinese leader Xi Jinping may follow in the footsteps of Russia’s Vladimir Putin and realize his own territorial ambitions by invading Taiwan. Last October, Xi vowed that the “unification” of Taiwan and China would be “certainly realized.”
The Chinese Communist Party claims that Taiwan is part of its territory, even though it has never been under the control of the government. Internationally, Taiwan is widely recognized as a de facto independent entity with its own constitution, democratically elected government, and military.
“Some kind of provocative attack within the Indo-Pacific region will certainly provide some kind of solidarity for Pacific nations to come together and oppose such things,” he added.
In addition, according to Wilsbach, the Chinese need to think about “some of the terrain they have to fight around where their neighbors are.”
Russia and Ukraine share a border, but Taiwan is an island separated from mainland China by a narrow body of water called the Taiwan Strait. Taiwanese military experts 2021 report China does not have enough amphibious capacity to successfully invade Taiwan.
December, Deputy Defense Minister of Taiwan I told a local councilor China’s lack of landing equipment and logistical support will make China’s invasion of Taiwan very difficult.
Wilsbach said Beijing should keep in mind how the Russians incurred huge costs for the war.
“They killed not only the Ukrainians, but many of themselves, and I hope China pays attention to it,” he said.
US generals also warned Beijing to take advantage of the Ukrainian crisis to advance the agenda.
“I am watching China very carefully during this crisis in Russia and Ukraine,” he said. “I’m watching carefully where they are available.”
“China is still active in the Pacific Ocean, and there are many cases outside the rule of law and the rule-based international order,” he added.
China-Russia alliance
According to Wilsbach, the “unrestricted” partnership between Russia and China has strict restrictions on military cooperation.
“I’ve seen several integrated bomber patrols in the past,” he said. “There are some other exercises, but they are not interoperable, and their systems are quite different.”
“It’s interesting to see power play. China thinks they should take the lead, and Russia thinks they should take the lead. So I’m pretty happy with the tension there. I’m doing it, “he said. “I think it will be a problem for them when they go to the future.”
In contrast, Wilsbach said that the United States and its allies (South Korea, Japan, Australia, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Singapore) have similar fighter equipment and “data are linked to each other.” Given that, he said it was very interoperable.
One of the things the US general wasn’t sure about was whether Xi knew about Moscow’s military plans before the invasion.
“Is Xi wrong? Was he part of a false alarm campaign that Russia was issuing? Or was he surprised? Was he fooled by the Russians? I don’t know the answer to that question. “Hmm,” said Willsbach.
Chinese officials urged Russian responders to wait until the end of the 2022 Winter Olympics before invading Ukraine, according to a Western intelligence report first picked up by the New York Times on March 2. The request was made earlier last month, but it’s not clear from the report whether Xi and Putin discussed it at a meeting in Beijing on February 4.
“I think China is currently taking a fairly cautious approach, based on the uncertainty about what this will be,” he said. “And again, the international backlash against Russia probably doesn’t want to get too much involved.”
“But it’s still very surprising to come up with the support rhetoric they have,” he concludes.
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Frank Fang is a Taiwan-based journalist. He covers news in China and Taiwan. He holds a master’s degree in materials science from Tsinghua University in Taiwan.