‘We’re not going to take the bait:’ DoD downplays China escalation around Taiwan
The Pentagon’s top policy official also refuted reports claiming that US officials now believe China could invade Taiwan by 2024.
By VALERIE INSINNA
on August 08, 2022 at 3:12 PM
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s top policy official refuted reports claiming that US officials now believe China could invade Taiwan by 2024, but stated that China’s recent military activities around Taiwan are an attempt to create instability in the region.
“Clearly, the PRC is trying to coerce Taiwan. Clearly, they’re trying to coerce the international community. And all I’ll say is, we’re not going to take the bait and it’s not going to work,” Colin Kahl, undersecretary of defense for policy, told reporters today.
“It’s a manufactured crisis, but that doesn’t mean we have to play into that. I think it would only play to Beijing’s advantage. What we’ll do instead, is to continue to fly, to sail and to operate wherever international law allows us to do so and that includes in the Taiwan Strait, and we will continue to stand by our allies and partners in the region.”
https://breakingdefense.com/2022/08/were-not-going-to-take-the-bait-dod-downplays-china-escalation-around-taiwan/
