WASHINGTON — The U.S. expects China to keep up the more aggressive behavior toward Taiwan it began during a visit by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a senior Pentagon official said in unveiling the department’s latest assessment of the country’s military might.
China has conducted more naval operations and invasive air activity around the self-governed island in an apparent effort to intimidate and wear down Taiwan’s leaders, according to the official, who spoke to reporters on customary condition of anonymity. That activity includes crossing what’s known unofficially as the centerline of the Taiwan Strait between the island and China’s mainland.
The U.S. sees no sign of an imminent attack but still believes that China wants to have the capability, at least, to launch an invasion of the island by 2027, part of a broader push to make it the world’s most powerful military by 2049, the official said.
