Senior US air force general predicts war with China in 2025

The head of the US Air Force’s Air Mobility Command (AMC), Gen. Mike Minihan, has issued an ominous warning about a conflict with China as early as 2025, most likely over Taiwan – a self-governing democracy claimed by Beijing – and advised his commanders to push their units to achieve maximum operational battle readiness this year.

The remarks are included in a two-page internal memorandum that first emerged on social media on Friday, and was later confirmed as authentic by the Pentagon.

“I hope I am wrong. My gut tells me we will fight in 2025,” said Minihan, adding the main goal should be to deter “and, if required, defeat” China. He also called on all Mobile Command personnel to go to the firing range, “fire a clip” into a target and “aim for the head.”

Minihan has laid out his reasoning in the internal memo. Taiwan’s upcoming presidential elections in 2024 would offer Chinese President Xi Jinping an excuse for military aggression, while the US’s contest for the White House next year would “offer Xi a distracted America,” he mentioned. “Xi’s team, reason, and opportunity are all aligned for 2025.”

For some time now, senior US military officials have been raising concerns over the possibility of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) getting into a position where they would feel confident enough to launch an intervention against the island nation by 2027. Some top US officers have already shared suggestions that the PLA could reach this point sooner and that America needs to be ready for the possible circumstance, The Drive reported.

Last August, China staged major military exercises, following a defiant visit of solidarity to Taipei by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The US endorsed the ‘One China Policy’ and switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979 but sells weapons to the island nation for its self-defence. An increasing number of US lawmakers have called for boosting help, including supplying Taiwan with direct military aid, saying that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine highlights the requirement for early preparation.