https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/w...arns-8j5kl03hq
War with China in two years, top US general warns
China accused a senior American general of being “reckless” after he said the superpowers would be at war within two years.
In a stark warning about the chance of conflict over President Xi’s determination to seize Taiwan, General Mike Minihan, who oversees the US Air Force’s fleet of transport and refuelling aircraft, said: “I hope I am wrong. My gut tells me [we] will fight in 2025.”
In the memo obtained by NBC News, Minihan told operational commanders to make ready for combat. “Xi secured his third term and set his war council in October 2022,” he said. “Taiwan’s presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a reason. US presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a distracted America. Xi’s team, reason, and opportunity are all aligned for 2025.”…..
An air force spokeswoman, Major Hope Cronin, verified the memo’s authenticity, saying it “builds on last year’s foundational efforts by Air Mobility Command to ready forces for future conflict, should deterrence fail”.
A US defence official, meanwhile, told The Washington Post that Minihan’s comments “are not representative of the department’s view on China”. It reported that before taking over at Air Mobility Command in 2021, Minihan served in a variety of influential roles in the Pacific beginning in 2013.
They include a stint as the deputy commander of Indo-Pacific Command, with purview of China and Taiwan, from September 2019 to August 2021……
Last year Admiral Mike Gilday, chief of the US naval operations, also raised the possibility of war in the Taiwan Strait. “When we talk about the 2027 window [when China should build capability to seize Taiwan], in my mind that has to be 2022 or potentially 2023,” he said…….