Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the highest ranking officer in the US Navy, unveiled a plan on Wednesday to be ready for a war with China by 2027 as the US military is preparing for a direct fight with Beijing despite the risk of nuclear war.
The plan lays out goals to be reached by 2027, including making 80% of the naval force ready for combat deployments on short notice. Franchetti told The Associated Press she wants to increase combat readiness so “if the nation calls us, we can push the ‘go’ button, and we can surge our forces to be able to meet the call.”
Other goals include increasing recruitment, improving Navy infrastructure, removing delays in ship maintenance, and increasing the use of drones and other autonomous systems.
Franchetti said the US is taking lessons from Ukraine’s operations against Russia in the Black Sea and the US’s new war against the Houthis in Yemen. US Navy ships have battled the Houthis since January in what US commanders have called the largest US naval battle since World War II, but the campaign has failed to deter or stop Houthi attacks.
Franchetti said that she is focusing on getting ready for war with China by 2027 because that is “the year that that President Xi (Jinping) told his forces to be ready to invade Taiwan.” However, that idea is only based on claims from US intelligence officials.
While China has ambitious goals for its military, there’s no evidence of a direct order to be ready for an invasion of Taiwan by 2027. Earlier this year, Defense News reported that Xi raised the issue with President Biden when the two leaders met in San Francisco in November 2023.
Recounting the meeting, a US official said: “Xi basically said: ‘Look, I hear all these reports in the United States [of] how we’re planning for military action in 2027 or 2035. There are no such plans. No one has talked to me about this.'”
The Defense News report noted how the claims about a Chinese invasion of Taiwan have helped funnel money to a US military buildup in the Asia Pacific. The claim about a 2027 invasion was first made in 2021 by Retired Adm. Phil Davidson, the former head of US Indo-Pacific Command.
“The concern it generated earned a nickname: the ‘Davidson window,’ shorthand for the near-term threat of an attack on Taiwan,” Defense News reported. “And that changed how Congress spent money. The Pacific Deterrence Initiative doesn’t have its own budget, but in the last few years the US has spent more on its forces in the region.”
