US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin warned that the aerial invasion of Chinese fighters, bombers and other fighters near Taiwan appeared to be a rehearsal of military operations against the country.

Austin said in a speech at the Reagan National Defense Forum on Saturday: “It looks a lot like they are exploring their true capabilities, and it certainly looks like a rehearsal.”

Austin does not seem to imply that China is preparing for conflict in the near futureHowever, since the beginning of this year, the scale and frequency of missions for the country’s air force to enter Taiwan’s “air defense identification zone” have increased significantly.

Military activities, plus Rapid technological progress The Chinese People’s Liberation Army expressed concern about China’s intentions with Taiwan, which Taiwan claims to have sovereignty.Some experts believe that China’s recent rapid expansion Nuclear arsenal Designed to make it more difficult for the United States to intervene in any conflict over Taiwan.

US Secretary of State Anthony Brinken told Reuters on Friday that the Chinese invasion would have “dire consequences” and emphasized that Washington is absolutely committed to ensuring the safety of Taipei. Can defend himselfAt the event in California, Lloyd declined to specify how the United States will respond to China’s invasion of the island.

“We are committed to helping Taiwan develop and maintain its self-defense capabilities,” Brinken said. “No one wants to see this develop into conflict in the region, so we will do everything we can to help prevent conflict and lower the temperature as much as possible.”

Austin speaking in California on the way Back from seoulFor the first time, he and his South Korean colleagues added language to maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait in the communiqué, indicating that the Indo-Pacific region is increasingly worried about Chinese military aggression.

Chinese President Xi Jinping told President Joe Biden last month that any country that supports Taiwan independence forces is “playing with fire.” But the Chinese leader also said that he was “patient” and hoped to fight for peaceful reunification. Some American experts believed that this was to reduce the temperature of potential conflicts.

On Saturday, Austin stated that the United States faces real challenges, including “the emergence of an increasingly confident and authoritarian China.”

He said that China is expanding its projection power and building global capabilities. Military base networkHe added that the Chinese military is rapidly improving its capabilities in areas ranging from missiles and missile defense to anti-submarine technology. He pointed out that the Pentagon believes that by 2030, China’s nuclear weapons reserves will quadruple to more than 1,000 warheads.

Austin said that Washington will cooperate with allies against China, but he also hopes to establish better communication channels with Beijing to help manage risks, including those in the nuclear weapons field.

Austin and Mark MillySince the Biden administration came to power, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff has not had a dialogue with his Chinese counterparts.Pentagon hope Recent virtual meeting The cooperation between Biden and Xi Jinping will pave the way for better communication between the two militaries.

In his speech, Austin also called on the US private sector to cooperate with the Pentagon to develop cutting-edge technology. But he admitted that the military must do a better job in streamlining bureaucracy and reducing risk aversion to ensure that entrepreneurs do not see it as a “valley of death.”

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