CIA Director William Burns has revealed that Chinese President Xi Jinping has instructed his country’s military “to be ready by 2027 to carry out a successful invasion” of Taiwan.
Burns made the comment Thursday during an event at Georgetown University, where he also said he believes Xi has been closely watching Russian President Vladimir Putin’s protracted and costly invasion of Ukraine. Beijing has been embroiled in a tense territorial dispute with the island, which it claims is part of China.
“On Taiwan, I think I would say our assessment at the CIA is that he would not underestimate President Xi’s ambitions with respect to Taiwan. He has been quite clear on that over the years,” Burns said. “I think he’s watched very carefully, it seems to us, Putin’s experience in Ukraine and he’s also been a bit unsettled and sober about it.
“We know as a matter of intelligence that you have instructed the People’s Liberation Army to be ready by 2027 to carry out a successful invasion,” Burns continued.
CHINESE MILITARY AIRCRAFT ENTERS TAIWAN AIRSPACE WHILE US TRACKS SURVEILLANCE BALLOON
CIA Director William Burns speaks on “Addressing the Global Threat Landscape” during an event as part of the Trainor Award ceremony at the Georgetown Hotel and Conference Center on February 2, 2023, in Washington, DC. DC
(Alex Wong/Getty Images)
“Now, that doesn’t mean that he has decided to carry out an invasion in 2027, or in any other year, but it is a reminder of the seriousness of his approach and his ambition,” Burns added.
AFTER A CHINESE BALLOON ENTERS US AIRSPACE, BIDEN’S SECRETARY OF STATE POSTPONES TRIP TO CHINA
“So I think it’s in our very interest as a matter of policy in the United States to make clear our commitment to the status quo, to make clear that we’re not interested as a country in changing that status quo, that we’re deeply opposed to anyone who tries to change that unilaterally, especially through the use of force,” the CIA director also said.
FILE – Chinese military helicopters fly over Pingtan Island, one of mainland China’s closest points to Taiwan, in Fujian province on Aug. 4, 2022, ahead of mass military exercises off Taiwan following the president’s visit. from the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, to the autonomous island.
(HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“And continue to do everything possible to help Taiwan defend itself and think about how best to do that to deter what would be some kind of conflict that is deeply unfortunate for everyone involved, including China as well,” he concluded.
Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, on November 19, 2022.
(Ju Peng/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Burns’ comments came as more than a dozen Chinese military aircraft and four warships were detected in Taiwan on Friday morning, defense officials said.
Fox News’ Paul Best contributed to this report.
