Top US General ‘Fully Confident’ the US Would Beat China in a War Over Taiwan

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown has said he is “fully confident” that the US could beat China in a war that breaks out over Taiwan.

When asked at the Aspen Security Forum last Friday if he thought the US could defeat China, Brown said, “Yes, I’m fully confident in our force. We are the most lethal, most respected combat force in the world.”

He continued, “Now, it’s going to take all the nation if we go to conflict with the with the PRC [People’s Republic of China], and I’m confident, if we’re challenged, we will be there.”

Brown acknowledged the war would be a major conflict and said the US was working to build up military logistics in the Asia Pacific by stockpiling weapons, ammunition, and other types of supplies.

“These will be major conflicts akin to what we saw in WWII, and so we’ve got to come to grips with that,” he said. “Two, the PRC knows where our advantages are and the combat capability we can bring to bear. My sense is they’ll want to go quick so they can do it before we can bring capability there.”

Brown framed the US military buildup in the region as an effort to deter a war. But as the US has been beefing up its presence in the Asia Pacific and increasing support for Taiwan, tensions between Washington and Beijing have risen significantly.

Brown’s comments reflect a growing trend of US military officials openly discussing that they’re preparing for a direct war with China even though Beijing is a nuclear-armed power. The risk of nuclear escalation doesn’t appear to be factored into the plans since it’s rarely mentioned by US officials.

War games have shown that in a conventional battle, thousands of American troops would be killed in just the first few weeks of a war with China over Taiwan.