HONG KONG (HRNW) – Chinese President Xi Jinping’s new generals may have been selected for their political loyalty to him, but those ties could serve at least one vital military purpose in any Taiwan invasion plan: ensuring cohesion and decisiveness.
Although the Politburo’s seven-man Standing Committee would make the ultimate decision on any Taiwan action, the Central Military Commission would forge and execute the battle plan, eight Asian and Western military attaches say.
Three new generals were appointed to the top command body on Sunday after the Communist Party’s five-yearly congress – an event at which Xi said China would “never promise to give up the use of force” to take control of the self-ruled island.
Four security analysts and four military attaches say Russia’s Ukrainian quagmire has shown how vital speed – both in build-up and execution – would be to any Chinese plan, in part to prevent Taiwanese forces and international support from mobilising.