US intelligence claims China asked soldiers to prepare for Taiwan invasion by 2027

Amid the escalating tension between China and Taiwan, a top US intelligence official claimed that Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered its forces to prepare for the invasion of Taipei by 2027. According to a report by CNN, the major revelation came from US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), David Cohen, whose assessment claims Jinping asked Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) to develop the ability to capture its neighbouring island nation. However, the plan has not been finalised yet, said the CIA official. 

"He has not made the decision to do that, but he has asked his military to put him in a position where if that's what he wanted to do, he would be able to. It's still the assessment of the IC as a whole that Xi's interest in Taiwan is to get control through non-military means," Cohen said. 

Notably, the same concerns were also claimed by former US Commander Philip Davidson and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley last year. According to Davidson, there might be an accident in Taiwan in the next six years that might change the demography of Taiwan. On the other hand, Miley claimed that President Jinping directed PLA to accelerate its modernization plan to develop its capabilities to capture Taiwan by 2027. Earlier in November last year, the US Department of Defence released a report titled "Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China" wherein it warned the Taiwanese government to take "extra care" of its territories. 

Chinese govt plans to force Taiwan to negotiate on Beijing terms by 2027: US Report

The report points out that a major new milestone for the People's Liberation Army is 2027-- when China would try to force Taiwan to accept a negotiated surrender and prevent any military interference of the US forces. Moreover, the US defence report said the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) would make necessary changes in the PLA by 2027. Before the deadline, the Chinese government would make the PLA forces equipped with all modern arms technology. The document also said that once Beijing achieves its modernisation drive, it will render the communist regime with more "trustworthy military" options in a Taiwan contingency. It also said that the PLA's goals for 2027 include gaining the ability to blunt US forces in the Indo-Pacific region and "enforce Taipei's leadership to the negotiating table on Beijing's terms.

It is worth mentioning Taiwan, home to 23.6 million people, split from China during a civil war that led to the Communist Party taking control of the mainland in 1949. Despite this, Beijing violated Taiwan's border claiming full sovereignty over Taiwan, even though the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades. The Communist government, on several occasions, stepped up military exercises around self-ruled Taiwan, which it considers its own territory.   

Satellite images show China deployed unmanned subs in South China sea

In another revelation, a media report released new satellite images wherein it found China is preparing to deploy massive unmanned subs in the South China sea. However, the media report did not clarify the main intention of Beijing. According to Asiatimes, the new images showed two of China's extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicles (XLUUV) at Sanya Naval Base on Hainan Island, which geographically juts into the contested South China Sea. The media report claimed that two vehicles were present all-time at the base since March and April 2021, but have been spotted now. It also mentions that the two XLUUVs have been seen near an area where China has previously based its midget submarines, indicating trials or testing.

Image: AP