TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The head of the US military command responsible for a region including Taiwan said on Tuesday (Nov. 19) that China’s 2027 date for being ready to invade Taiwan is less relevant as it approaches.

Speaking at the Brookings Institute in Washington, D.C., US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) head Admiral Samuel Paparo said the date was alarming when it was first made public. However, he said that as the date nears it becomes more important to maintain readiness at all times rather than for a specific date.

Paparo said if the People’s Republic of China (PRC) thought unification with Taiwan became impossible, a third party intervened to make Taiwan independent, or Taiwan declared independence, Beijing would consider an invasion a “war of necessity.” He said outside of that, the 2027 date was set as a time to be ready to fight a “war of choice.”

“It was never a date where the PRC declared, ‘We’re going on this date.’ I think they are somewhat confused when people conflate it with that,” Paparo said.

Paparo also noted China's stance that it would prefer to achieve unification with Taiwan without the use of force.

He said he believes the US would make it “exceedingly difficult” for China to mount a cross-strait invasion. The US is prepared to defend Taiwan in land, air, sea, and undersea spaces, Paparo said.

“I have several plans that have been tested in classified environments that have been proven in doing so,” he said.

He did not comment on the likelihood of a blockade of Taiwan by the PRC but said he is confident in the US’ ability to break one. He added the international response to a blockade would be highly unpredictable given the potential economic and political impacts it would have.

Paparo remained tight-lipped when asked about recent additions to the Replicator initiative, which he described in May as critical to INDOPACOM’s capabilities. 

Replicator is a US military plan that has been allocated US$500 million (NT$16.2 billion) annually to ready thousands of cheap, smart combat drones for future conflicts. The US Defense Department said on Nov. 14 that additional software and drones had been deployed for the initiative.