China's military spending is on the rise.
China is building up its military and nuclear arsenal on a scale not seen since World War II, and all indications are that it is pursuing ambitions to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027.
Despite Beijing's economic problems, its official defense budget has increased by 16% in recent years and exceeded 223 billion dollars, said the head of the US Indo-Pacific Command Admiral John Aquilino, whose words were quoted by Bloomberg.
According to him, in the three years since he took over the command, China's army (PLA) has added more than 400 fighter jets, two dozen large warships, and has doubled its stockpile of ballistic and cruise missiles since 2020.
"All indications are that the PLA is following President Xi Jinping's directive to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027 if ordered," Aquilino said.
He added that the Chinese military is also practicing various tasks related to operations against Taiwan, such as simulating an encirclement with a naval and air blockade.
At the same time, according to American intelligence, China does not want a military conflict over Taiwan, even if it intends to take the self-governing island under its control.
"China's unprecedented level of military spending is bearing fruit. The PLA is deploying modern systems such as hypersonic weapons and fifth-generation fighters. They can project their power far into the Pacific with a 340-ship navy that includes a new aircraft carrier and nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines.” said Congressman Mike Rogers, who heads the Armed Forces Committee of the US House of Representatives.
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