Cross-strait invasion unlikely as many nations watching: U.S. general

Washington, June 29 (CNA) The likelihood of China invading Taiwan without contest is "very, very small" because the Taiwan Strait is under constant surveillance by multiple countries, a U.S. general has said.

General Ronald Clark, commanding officer of the U.S. Army's largest service component command, U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC), made the remarks during a dialogue hosted Friday by the Washington-based think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Asked by the event host about what the Chinese military has learned from its U.S. counterpart over the years, Clark said the first lesson would be that the skill and will of American service members are "unmatched."

The second lesson, Clark said, is specifically targeted at the Taiwan issue "because that's where we spend a lot of our time thinking about how to counter cross-strait invasion, which is the most dangerous course of action," in particular, "how hard that [cross-strait invasion] is."

The U.S. Army builds its warfighter program at the division and corps levels to counter a wet gap crossing, namely, a military maneuver involving creating means to cross a body of water.

In the case of Taiwan, wet gap crossing refers to a military operation in which People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops and equipment are moved across the Taiwan Strait.

"We're talking about an adversary [China] that has to cross an 80-mile wet gap that's being watched by an unblinking eye, multiple countries working together to deter them from that activity."

The chances of being able to conduct "an uncontested or successful wet gap crossing of that scale" are "very, very small," he said.

"So our efforts to continue to make that problem set more difficult for the Chinese is where we spend a lot of our time," the U.S. Army general added.

The United States is building partnerships across the region with allies and partners in conducting Taiwan Strait transits, he said.

"They're working closely together to build the interoperability necessary to contest their [China's] aggressive, belligerent and coercive activities across the region.

It's us focusing on our people to ensure that our teammates understand the importance of their mission, and that we're in this thing together," Clark said.

Clark assumed command of USARPAC on Nov. 8, 2024.

The U.S. Army Pacific is headquartered at Fort Shafter, Hawaii, with elements of the command forward-deployed and stationed throughout the Indo-Pacific, according to information on USARPAC's website.

The U.S. military, sometimes joined by allies, makes regular, almost monthly transits through the Taiwan Strait in what it calls "freedom of navigation" sailings.

Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Japan have also made similar Taiwan Strait transits by warships and/or warplanes. Most recently, the British Royal Navy's HMS Spey transited through the Taiwan Strait on June 18.