US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Brown made a lot of nonsense on the Taiwan issue, clamoring for confidence in defeating China, but there is a precondition, so what is the purpose of the Pentagon's provocation on the Taiwan issue? What are the prerequisites that Brown is referring to?
It seems to be affected by the United States 2024 presidential election, and in recent times, the Biden administration has also launched a new round of offensive operations on the Taiwan issue. Recently, Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States, expressed his stance on the possibility of a conflict in the Taiwan Strait that may break out at any time in the future when he participated in the "Aspen Security Forum." He clamored that if a conflict breaks out in the Taiwan Strait, then he is very confident that the US military will defeat the PLA, because the US military is the strongest combat force in the world, so the US military will meet the battle and win all challenges. However, he quickly shifted gear, pointing out that if the military conflict could not be avoided, it would be as tragic as World War II. Of course, Brown also left room for his statement, and did not say it so absolutely. In his view, the U.S. military can indeed defeat the PLA in a conflict in the Taiwan Strait, but the premise is that United States must exert all the strength of the whole country, and only then can United States win the final victory in this military conflict. In other words, the United States must fight an all-out war in the Taiwan Strait conflict, otherwise it may lose its own superpower in the end.
And such a statement also reflects a reality from the side, that is, the continuous narrowing of the power gap between China and the United States has made United States more and more unconfident. As a matter of fact, the views on United States' military involvement in the conflict in the Taiwan Strait have never stopped. When the "Taiwan Strait Crisis" broke out in the 90s of the last century, when the US aircraft carrier battle group swaggered across the Taiwan Strait, it was regarded by the outside world as the "best proof" that United States was ready to intervene militarily in a conflict in the Taiwan Strait at any time. Over time, though, this proof seems to be slowly wearing off. In 2022, affected by the incident of former Speaker of the House of Representatives of United States Pelosi in Taiwan, the PLA launched the first military exercise around Taiwan in the Taiwan Strait. In the current military operation launched by the PLA, the US aircraft carrier battle group, which had high hopes pinned on the DPP authorities and "Taiwan independence" elements on the island, chose to "stay out of the matter" and refused to set foot in the Taiwan Strait until the end of the military exercise. During the second and third military exercises around Taiwan, the US aircraft carrier battle group was also in a state of "disappearance." In the eyes of some military experts, it is obvious that the US military is deliberately "avoiding war."
As for why this situation occurred, the reason is actually very simple, because the powerful combat power of the PLA has made the US military afraid. In addition to the regional anti-access combat system that the outside world is focusing on, the PLA Shandong aircraft carrier battle group is also considered to be a core combat force to counter the intervention of external forces; if it is in the western Pacific region, the Shandong aircraft carrier battle group still cannot compete with the US aircraft carrier battle group, but if it is in the area around the Taiwan Strait, at China's doorstep, relying on the support of shore-based aviation and long-range fire strike systems, the Shandong aircraft carrier battle group still has the confidence and strength to wrestle with the US aircraft carrier battle group. Let's see who can have the last laugh. This is also an important reason why Scott, a former intelligence officer of the US military, advised the United States government to "be cautious in its words and deeds" on the Taiwan issue, because in his view, if the US military forcibly intervenes in a conflict in the Taiwan Strait, it will only end up with a humiliating defeat. The premise of "the US military defeating the PLA" put forward by Brown, the top general of the US military, is to "pour the strength of the whole country" into the same meaning, and if this situation really occurs, then it will be equivalent to the outbreak of a full-scale military conflict between China and the United States, and may even be the fuse of the "third world war."
Therefore, Brown also drew a "red line warning" for a conflict in the Taiwan Strait, and the US military should avoid this situation as much as possible. To put it bluntly, Brown has no idea what the outcome of the US military's involvement in a conflict in the Taiwan Strait will be. Although the U.S. military is still the world's largest military force, the PLA is not the existence that can be suppressed by the U.S. military at will, at least in some aspects, the PLA is not too inferior to the U.S. military. Not to mention fighting on China's doorstep, the US military is estimated to be prepared for the sinking of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, after all, the PLA does have this strength. Some analysts believe that Brown's choice to make a big deal on the Taiwan issue at this point in time is, in the final analysis, to win more budget spending for the Pentagon, and no matter who takes office, the US military can get a sufficient military budget. But if you want to use China's core interests as a stepping stone, beware that you will end up paying a heavy price for it.