TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The evolving relations between China, Taiwan, and the United States have captured attention worldwide. In an exclusive interview with TVBS commentator Wenchi Yu on Tuesday (July 25), retired U.S. Navy Admiral Michael Mullen offered valuable insights on Taiwan's evolving role in the global order.
Mullen remarked that China's leader Xi Jinping instructed its People's Liberation Army to develop capability by 2027. However, it is unknown whether there will be an invasion in Taiwan, "China has risen its investment in defense department dramatically in the last couple of decades."
"One of the realities of the world we are living in is the Ukraine-Russia war," Mullen stressed that "China has not fought a significant war since 1953" and believed that the Chinese president and his leadership team are keeping an eye on the development of the ongoing conflict in that region.
Led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mullen emphasized that leaders should be cautious about the consequences of war since his military career in the Middle East taught him that "those countries that live there have to resolve their own problems."
In his view, however, situations in the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific region were different because the latter is the center of major economies in the world and has the U.S. longstanding allies, such as Japan, South Korea, and Australia.
As Taiwan has been a focal point in the Indo-Pacific region, Mullen noted that Japan and Australia are more publicly supportive of region stability, saying, "I would not say they are willing to fight with us in the case of Taiwan, but they are certainly moving in that direction."