Adm. Linda Fagan: Biden administration nominates first woman to ...

CNN —

President Joe Biden has nominated Adm. Linda Fagan to serve as the next commandant of the US Coast Guard.

If confirmed, Fagan would be the first woman to lead a US armed service and to lead the Coast Guard.

Fagan currently serves as the No 2. in the US Coast Guard, a role she’s held since June 2021.

Her nomination will be under consideration by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, the committee’s chair, praised Fagan’s nomination and said it will “inspire generations of American women to strive to serve at the highest level in the Armed Forces.”

Cantwell and Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin had written to Biden on Friday, requesting the “prompt nomination” of the Coast Guard commandant while noting that the current commandant is required to retire on May 31.

“Given the time required to confirm the nomination in the Senate, it is imperative that we receive the official as soon as possible. Ensuring continuity of leadership is of the utmost importance to our national and economic security,” the two senators wrote.

If confirmed, Fagan would become the 27th Commandant during a change of command ceremony scheduled for June 1 in Washington. Adm. Karl Schultz, the current commandant, will retire after the ceremony.

In a Twitter post Tuesday, Republicans on the committee said that Biden has “finally nominated an outstanding leader” for the Coast Guard and that it’s “important for the Commerce Committee to proceed efficiently so the Coast Guard is not left without a leader.”

Fagan has 36 years of Coast Guard service and has served on all seven continents, according to her military biography.

As the Coast Guard’s vice commandant, Fagan was the service’s first female four-star admiral.

She most recently served as the commander of the Coast Guard Pacific Area and also served on the icebreaker USCGC POLAR STAR. Fagan also was the first woman to serve as commander of Sector New York. As the longest serving active duty Marine Safety Officer, she was recognized as the Coast Guard’s first Gold Ancient Trident.

“Admiral Fagan is an exceptional senior Coast Guard officer and nominee, possessing the keen intellect, the depth of operational experience, and the well-honed leadership and managerial acumen to serve with distinction as our Service’s 27th Commandant,” Schultz said in a statement.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Fagan is “a tremendous leader, trailblazer, and respected public servant who will lead the Coast Guard across its critical missions with honor.”

He urged the Senate to swiftly confirm Fagan.

Lt. Gen. Michael Langley becomes Marines' first Black four-star ...

CNN —

US Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Michael Langley was promoted to the rank of general in a ceremony Saturday, becoming the first Black four-star general in the military branch’s 246-year history.

Langley will take command of the US Africa Command, which oversees the nation’s military presence in Africa, in a change of command ceremony at its Germany headquarters on Monday.

Speaking after the ceremony at Marine Barracks in Washington, DC, Langley said he was “humbled and honored for the opportunity to take on the stewardship of command of AFRICOM” as a four-star general.

“But the milestone and what it means to the Corps is quite essential. Not just because the mark in history, but what it will affect going forward, especially for those younger across society that want to aspire and look at the Marine Corps as an opportunity,” he added.

Langley was nominated by President Joe Biden for the promotion in June. The US Senate confirmed his promotion to four-star general by a voice vote earlier this week.

In remarks during Saturday’s ceremony, Langley paid homage to “those who have gone before,” recognizing Frederick C. Branch, the first commissioned Black Marine, and the Montford Point Marines, the first African Americans to enlist in the Marines who trained at a segregated facility in Montford Point, North Carolina.

He also spoke of the importance of diversity in the military to “maintain a decisive advantage over our strategic competitors.”

The Marine Corps had refused to recruit African Americans and other minorities until a 1941 executive order signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt that “forced the Corps, despite objections from its leadership,” to start recruiting Black Marines the following year.

Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, Langley graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington and has served with the Marine Corps since 1985.

He has commanded at every level and served in multiple continents, being deployed to countries such as Japan and Afghanistan over the course of his career.

He most recently served as commander of the US Marine Corps Forces Command and Marine Forces Northern Command and as commanding general of Fleet Marine Force Atlantic.

Patriot missile systems will help Ukraine's defense but experts ...

CNN —

The US announced this week that it is providing a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine — but experts say that while it will be a valuable addition to the beleaguered country’s air defense, it’s not a cure-all.

The US announced a new aid package to Ukraine on Tuesday, which included the “first-ever transfer to Ukraine of the Patriot Air and Missile Defense System, capable of bringing down cruise missiles, short range ballistic missiles, and aircraft at a significantly higher ceiling than previously provided air defense systems,” according to a State Department spokesperson. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to the US on Wednesday to celebrate the transfer with US President Joe Biden.

“It increases accuracy, it increases the kill rate, so it really does exactly what you want it to do which is protection on the ground on very specific targets,” retired Maj. Gen. James “Spider” Marks previously told CNN of the system’s capabilities.

The Patriot’s radar system combines “surveillance, tracking, and engagement functions in one unit,” a description from the Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS) says, which makes it stand out among other air defense systems. The system’s engagements with incoming aerial threats are “nearly autonomous” aside from needing a “final launch decision” from the humans operating it.

Ukraine has repeatedly asked for the US Army’s Patriot – an acronym for Phased Array Tracking Radar for intercept on Target – system, as it is considered one of the most capable long-range air defense systems on the market. And though the US did not fulfill the request for the first 10 months of the war, a senior administration official told CNN that the “reality of what is going on” on the ground in Ukraine influenced their decision to do so.

In recent weeks, the Russian military has increasingly attacked Ukraine’s power grid and infrastructure as winter approached and the temperatures dropped. Zelensky told Biden that “Russian missile terror” had knocked out roughly half of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

Those attacks have only further fueled Ukraine’s asks for the Patriot. In fact, the Army calls the Patriot system the service’s “most advanced air defense system,” which can intercept “any aerial threat” under “any weather conditions.”

Retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, former commander of US Army Europe, told CNN that there is likely some unrealistic expectations about what a Patriot battery will be able to do for Ukraine. It won’t, for example, be available to use immediately after the US agrees to provide it — it takes months to train troops on how to use the complex system, Hertling said, adding that training US troops to serve as maintainers or repairmen takes around a year. And it won’t be able to provide blanket cover for the entire country.

“These systems don’t pick up and move around the battlefield,” Hertling said. “You put them in place somewhere that defends your most strategic target, like a city, like Kyiv. If anyone thinks this is going to be a system that is spread across a 500-mile border between Ukraine and Russia, they just don’t know how the system operates.”

Indeed, Tom Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at CSIS, told CNN that the Patriot is “not a game-changer” because it is “still only able to defend a relatively small piece of dirt.”

Not to mention the significant logistical needs; just one battery is operated by roughly 90 soldiers, and includes computers, an engagement control system, a phased array radar, power generating equipment, and “up to eight launchers,” according to the Army.

CSIS recently said in a report that the missile rounds for the Patriot come in at roughly $4 million each. Rounds that expensive likely won’t be used to shoot down every missile Russia launches toward Ukraine, Hertling said.

“This is not a system that will go after drones or smaller ballistic missiles,” he said. “Can it do that? Absolutely. But when you’re talking about knocking down a $20,000 drone, or a $100,000 ballistic missile that Russia buys, with a $3-5 million rocket, that doesn’t give you much of a return on the investment. What it can do it free up the low and medium systems to go after those kind of targets.”

The system has been purchased by other US allies, including Israel, Germany, and Japan, and was sent to Poland in an effort to help them defend themselves against Russia as it invaded Ukraine on its border. The US military made clear in March when the Patriot system was sent to Poland that it was purely for defensive purposes of NATO territory and “will in no way support any offensive operations.”

And in Ukraine’s case, Hertling says offensive operations are far more important than the Patriot system. CNN first reported last month that the US was considering a dramatic increase in the training provided to Ukrainian forces by instructing as many as 2,500 troops a month at a US base in Germany. The Pentagon said this month that combined arms training of battalion-sized elements, which will include infantry maneuvers and live fire exercises, would begin in January.

“The Patriots are a defensive, anti-ballistic and anti-aircraft weapon system, with the emphasis on defensive,” Hertling said. “You don’t win wars with defensive capabilities. You win wars with offensive capabilities.”

China has the power to take Taiwan, but it would cost an extremely ...

Seoul, South Korea CNN —

On his first trip to Asia as United States President last week, Joe Biden gave his strongest warning yet to Beijing that Washington was committed to defending Taiwan militarily in the event of an attack from China.

Biden’s comments, which compared a potential Chinese attack on Taiwan to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, appeared to deviate from Washington’s decades-old policy of “strategic ambiguity” on the issue and seemingly raised the possibility of a military clash between US and Chinese forces.

It’s the third time Biden has made similar remarks since taking office and, just as on the other two occasions, they were quickly walked back by the White House – which insists its policy has not changed. However, it inevitably raises the question: if China tries to take Taiwan, are the United States and its allies able to stop it?

And the alarming answer is: Quite possibly not. Analysts say China has more troops, more missiles and more ships than Taiwan or its possible supporters, like the US or Japan, could bring to a fight. That means that if China is absolutely determined to take the island it probably can.

But there’s a caveat; while China could likely prevail, any victory would come at an extremely bloody price for both Beijing and its adversaries.

Many analysts say an invasion of Taiwan would be more dangerous and complex than the Allied D-Day landings in France in World War II. US government documents put the number of killed, injured and missing from both sides during the almost three-month-long Normandy campaign at almost half a million troops.

And the civilian carnage could be far, far worse.

Taiwan’s population of 24 million people is packed into dense urban areas like the capital Taipei, with an average of 9,575 people per square kilometer. Compare that to Mariupol, Ukraine – devastated in the war with Russia – and with an average of 2,690 people per square kilometer.

Despite its numerical advantages in sea-, air- and land-based forces in the region, China has Achilles heels in each arena of war that would force Beijing to think long and hard about whether an invasion is worth the overwhelming human cost.

Here are some scenarios of how a Chinese invasion might play out:

The naval war

China has the world’s largest navy, with around 360 combat vessels – bigger than the US’ fleet of just under 300 ships.

Beijing also has the world’s most-advanced merchant fleet, a large coast guard and, experts say, a maritime militia – fishing boats unofficially aligned with the military – giving it access to hundreds of additional vessels that could be used to transport the hundreds of thousands of troops that analysts say China would need for an amphibious invasion.

And those troops would need massive amounts of supplies.

“For Beijing to have reasonable prospects of victory, the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) would have to move thousands of tanks, artillery guns, armored personnel vehicles, and rocket launchers across with the troops. Mountains of equipment and lakes of fuel would have to cross with them,” Ian Easton, a senior director at the Project 2049 Institute, wrote in The Diplomat last year.

Getting a force of that size across the 110 miles (177 kilometers) of the Taiwan Strait would be a long, dangerous mission during which those vessels carrying the troops and equipment would be sitting ducks.

“The thought about China invading Taiwan, that’s a massacre for the Chinese navy,” said Phillips O’Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

That’s because Taiwan has been stocking up on cheap and effective land-based anti-ship missiles, similar to the Neptunes Ukraine used to sink the Russian cruiser Moskva in the Black Sea in April.

“Taiwan is mass-producing these things. And they’re small, it’s not like (China) can take them all out,” O’Brien said.

“What’s cheap is a surface-to-ship missile, what’s expensive is a ship.”

The Chinese guided-missile destroyer Changsha returns to a port in Sanya City, China, in March 2017. Zeng Tao/Xinhua/Getty Images

Still, China could – given its numerical advantage – simply decide the losses were worth it, pointed out Thomas Shugart, a former US Navy submarine captain and now an analyst at the Center for a New American Security.

“There’s gonna be hundreds if not thousands of (Chinese) vessels there to soak up those (Taiwanese) missiles,” Shugart said.

Missiles aside, China would face massive logistical hurdles in landing enough soldiers. Conventional military wisdom holds that an attacking force should outnumber defenders 3 to 1.

“With a potential defending force of 450,000 Taiwanese today … China would need over 1.2 million soldiers (out of a total active force of more than 2 million) that would have to be transported in many thousands of ships,” Howard Ullman, a former US Navy officer and professor at the US Naval War College, wrote in a February essay for the Atlantic Council.

He estimated such an operation would take weeks and that despite China’s maritime strength, it “simply lacks the military capability and capacity to launch a full-scale amphibious invasion of Taiwan for the foreseeable future.”

Aircraft carrier killers

Some of the problems that would face China’s navy in Taiwan would also face any US naval force sent to defend the island.

The US Navy sees its aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, bristling with F-35 and F/A-18 jets, as its spear in the Pacific and would have a numerical advantage in this area. The US has 11 carriers in total, compared to China’s two. However, only about half are combat ready at any one time and even these might be vulnerable.

O’Brien and others point out that the People’s Liberation Army has more than 2,000 conventionally armed missiles, many of which it has developed with the US Navy’s prized aircraft carriers in mind.

Of particular concern would be China’s DF-26 and DF-21D – touted by Beijing’s state-run Global Times tabloid in 2020 as “aircraft carrier killers” and the “world’s first ballistic missiles capable of targeting large and medium-sized vessels.”

As O’Brien puts it, “The US better be careful thinking about, in any kind of war environment, sending carrier battle groups close to China … If you’re fighting a state-to-state war, you’re going to stay far away from shore.”

Others are more confident in the US carriers.

Rear Adm. Jeffery Anderson, the commander of the US Navy’s Carrier Strike Group Three centered on the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, recently told CNN his ships are more than ready to deal with the kind of missiles that sank the Moskva.

“One thing I do know about our US ships is they’re extremely survivable. Not only are they lethal, but they are extremely survivable,” he said.

A Chinese air force fighter jet takes off during training exercises in 2017. Liu Chang/Xinhua/Getty Images

The air war

China is likely to seek air superiority early into any conflict, analysts say, and may feel it has an advantage in the skies.

Flight Global’s 2022 directory of the world’s air forces shows the PLA with almost 1,600 combat aircraft, compared to Taiwan’s fewer than 300. The directory shows the US with more than 2,700 combat aircraft, but those cover the world while China’s are all in the region.

Video Ad Feedback Taiwan holds ceremony for advanced F-16V fighter jets 02:11 - Source: CNN

In the air war, China also will have learned from Russia’s failures in Ukraine – where Moscow took months assembling its ground forces yet failed to soften up the terrain for them with a bombing campaign – and is more likely to emulate the “shock and awe” bombardments that preceded the US’ invasions of Iraq.

“I’m sure the PLA is learning from what they’re seeing,” Shugart said. “You can read open-source translations of their strategic documents. They learned very carefully from what we did in Desert Storm and Kosovo.”

But even in the air China would face significant difficulties.

A guided-missile-armed J-20 stealth fighter jet of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force performs at Airshow China 2018. Shu ying/Imagine China/Reuters

Russia’s failure to quickly seize control of the skies in Ukraine initially dumbfounded many analysts. Some put the failure down to the cheap antiaircraft missiles Western militaries have supplied to Kyiv.

Taiwan has deals with the United States to supply it with Stinger antiaircraft missiles and Patriot missile defense batteries. And it also has been investing heavily in its own missile production facilities over the past three years in a project, when completed this summer, will see its missile production capabilities triple, according to a Janes report in March.

On the other hand, China would have an advantage over the US due to its closeness to Taiwan.

A recent war game run by the Center for a New American Security concluded that an aerial conflict between the US and China would likely end in stalemate.

Commenting on the result to Air Force Magazine, Lt. Gen. S. Clinton Hinote, US Air Force deputy chief of staff for strategy, integration and requirements, said that while the US was used to dominating the skies some factors weren’t in its favor.

China had “invested in modern aircraft and weapons to fight us,” he noted, and US forces would also face the “tyranny of distance” – most of the US air power used in the war game operated out of the Philippines, about 500 miles (800 kilometers) away.

The war game simulated Chinese forces beginning their campaign by trying to take out the nearest US bases in places like Guam and Japan.

Hinote likened that move to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, saying China would be motivated by “many of the same reasons.”

“The attack is designed to give Chinese forces the time they need to invade and present the world with a fait accompli,” he told the magazine.

China has a growing arsenal of short-, medium- and intermediate range ballistic missiles that can reach these far-flung targets.

As of 2020, the PLA had at least 425 missile launchers capable of hitting those US bases, according to the China Power project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

A Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldier fires an anti-tank rocket during a live-fire military exercise in Wuzhong, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China in 2019. Reuters

The ground war

Even in a scenario where China was willing to take these risks and managed to get a significant amount of troops ashore, its forces would then face another uphill battle.

Taiwan has about 150,000 troops and 2.5 million reservists – and its entire national defense strategy is based on countering a Chinese invasion.

Like their counterparts in Ukraine the Taiwanese would have the advantage of home turf, knowing the ground and being highly motivated to defend it.

First, the PLA would need to find a decent landing spot – ideally close to both the mainland and a strategic city such as Taipei with nearby port and airport facilities. Experts have identified just 14 beaches that would fit the bill and Taiwan is well aware of which ones those are. Its engineers have spent decades digging tunnels and bunkers to protect them.

Taiwan’s troops would also be relatively fresh compared to their Chinese counterparts, who would be drained from the journey over and would still need to push through the island’s western mud flats and mountains, with only narrow roads to assist them, toward Taipei.

Chinese troops could be dropped in from the air, but a lack of paratroopers in the PLA makes it unlikely.

Another problem for Chinese troops would be their lack of battlefield experience. The last time the PLA was in active combat was in 1979, when China fought a brief border war with Vietnam.

Soldiers of Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) fire a mortar during a live-fire military exercise in Anhui province, China May 22, 2021. cnsphoto/Reuters

In that effort, China “really got a bloody nose, it was not very successful operation,” said Bonnie Glaser, director of the Asia program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

“So China’s military today is not battle tested, and it could suffer great losses, if it indeed attacked Taiwan,” Glaser said.

Others pointed out that even battle-tested troops could struggle against a well-motivated defensive force – noting that the Russian military was bogged down in Ukraine despite its recent fighting experience in Syria and Georgia.

Still, as with the other scenarios, it is not only Chinese forces that might be handicapped by a lack of experience. Taiwan’s troops have also not been tested, and depending on the scenario, there are holes in even the US’ experience. As Shugart put it: “There is not a single US naval officer who has sunk another ship in combat.”

What are the chances China attacks?

Glaser, the German Marshall Fund analyst, thinks a Chinese invasion of Taiwan is unlikely.

“I think that the PLA lacks full confidence that it can seize and control Taiwan. The PLA itself talks about some of the deficiencies in its capability,” she said.

“And obviously, the war in Ukraine highlights some of the challenges that China could face; it is certainly much harder to launch a war 100 miles across a body of water than it is across land borders, (such as those) between Russia and Ukraine,” she said.

She noted that the strong Ukrainian resistance may be giving Taiwan’s people reason to fight for their land.

“Given how Ukraine has really demonstrated a very high morale and willingness to defend its freedoms … I think that this is likely to change the calculus of not only military leaders in China, but hopefully also of (Chinese leader) Xi Jinping personally,” she said.

O’Brien, the University of St. Andrews professor, wrote in The Spectator this year that any war over Taiwan would lead to devastating losses on all sides, something that should make their leaders tread carefully before committing troops.

“If the Ukrainian war teaches us anything, it is that war is almost always a rash choice. Don’t underestimate your opponent, and don’t assume your systems will all work that well.”

A Chinese amy tank takes part in military drills in 2018. Mladen Antonov/AFP/Getty Images

Any other option?

Of course, the PLA has options other than a full-blown invasion.

These include taking outlying Taiwanese islands or imposing a quarantine on the main island, Robert Blackwill and Philip Zelikow wrote last year in a report for the Council on Foreign Relations.

Video Ad Feedback Residents of Taipei on edge about China after Russia invades Ukraine 02:52 - Source: CNN

Possible PLA targets could be Taiping Island, Taiwan’s most far-flung outpost in the South China Sea; the tiny Pratas Island, a small outpost 170 nautical miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Hong Kong; Kinmen and Matsu islands, tiny territories just a few miles off mainland China’s coast; or Penghu in the Taiwan Strait.

While a PLA victory of any of the four is almost assured, it could come at the cost of galvanizing support for Taiwan in the rest of the world – much as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has united the West against it.

Blackwill and Zelikow said the quarantine option might be more effective.

“In a quarantine scenario, the Chinese government would effectively take control of the air and sea borders of Taiwan,” they wrote. “The Chinese government would run effectively a clearance operation offshore or in the air to screen incoming ships and aircraft. The screeners could then wave along what they regarded as innocent traffic.”

Anything regarded as belligerent, such as US military aid for Taiwan, could be blocked or confiscated as a violation of Chinese sovereignty, they say. Meanwhile, China could allow the Taiwan government to function as normal except for foreign affairs.

This option would have an advantage in China’s eyes: the ball would be in the US’ court as to whether to use force to end the quarantine. Then it would be the US that would have to consider whether to risk a war that could cost countless lives.

Brad Lendon Ivan Watson
Brad Lendon
Ivan Watson

Photos this week: December 15-December 22 | CNN

Ten months after his country was invaded by Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky flew to Washington, DC, for a historic wartime visit.

Zelensky's visit to Washington marked his first trip outside Ukraine since the invasion. "I hope my words of respect and gratitude resonate in each American heart," Zelensky said during a joint meeting of Congress. But alongside his gratitude was a plea for more help, emphasizing that his armed forces are outnumbered and outgunned by the Russian military even as they fight on.

Earlier Wednesday, the Ukrainian leader visited the White House, where he met with President Joe Biden and held a joint news conference, during which the duo displayed a united front on their approach to the war.

Biden officially announced the United States will send an additional $1.8 billion package of assistance to Ukraine, which will include the Patriot missile defense system that Zelensky had been requesting for months.

Here are some of the stories that made headlines over the past week, as well as some photos that caught our eye.

Marine Corps uniform changes expected this year

Matthew L. Schehl

The Marine Corps Times

Major changes for Marine Corps uniforms are in the pipeline.

Switching to “bravos” or “charlies” and doing away with desert camouflage utility uniforms are two proposals currently on the table, based in part on a survey of Marines conducted over the summer by the Marine Corps Uniform Board.

Marine Corps officials declined to comment on the results, as final decisions are still pending, but Marines’ input will be taken into account, according to board manager Mary Boyt.

“The survey results will be briefed at the formal Uniform Board meeting during the deliberation phase of the process and will be briefed to the commandant and his staff in conjunction with the formal Uniform Board recommendation on the issues,” she said at the time.

On Dec. 14, the board also released details of its most recent uniform meeting, authorizing the wear of lock and twist hairstyles for women and clarifying sleeve-rolling regulations for desert MARPAT cammies, inserting the requirement that the rolls must be “snug to the arm.”

Marines relax rules on lock, twist hairstyles

Two potential changes were disapproved by the commandant, according to Marine administrative message 622/15, including wearing the Sam Browne Belt for officers and an issued first set of woodland cammies that require wearing brushed brass pin-on enlisted ranks.

The uniform survey, which concluded Aug. 9, asked Marines to vote on three potential uniform changes: adopting a new seasonal uniform policy, removing desert cammies from the required gear list and adopting a new dress blue coat for women.

There are three recommendations being considered for seasonal uniform changes.

The first is giving force-level commanders authority to make the call on which uniform of the day their Marines should wear based on the climate in their area of operation.

Current policy dictates that Marines across the globe are on the same uniform cycle: desert cammies for the spring and summer and woodlands over fall and winter.

But a second option is to take combat utility uniforms out of the required seasonal rotation altogether, delegating the decision of which uniform to wear to local commanders based on climate and training requirements.

Army retires green service uniform after 61 years

Going this route would allow Marines aboard Twentynine Palms, California, to wear desert cammies year-round, while those stationed in Okinawa, Japan, could be in woodlands all year, for example.

The final recommendation is to scrap combat utility uniforms as the uniform of the day in favor of the service uniform.

“Bravos” or “charlies” would become the universal daily uniform, versus the weekly “service uniform Fridays” Marines currently wear.

Cammies would still be worn in the field, during training, on deployments or any work environment detrimental to the formal uniform.

The second major uniform change being considered is whether to get rid of the desert MARPAT uniform as a minimum sea bag requirement.

The switch would mean a return to a requirement for four woodland uniforms, resulting in a standardized uniform and financial savings for the Corps.

In 2006, Marines began deploying to combat zones wearing flame resistant gear instead of the desert cammies in order to mitigate the threat from improvised explosive devices. For Marines who still require desert pattern uniforms, there are enough of these to go around for the immediate future.

The last issue Marines voted on was changing the women’s dress blue coat, with the options of keeping the current design, switching to a new unisex design or wearing the new design only for special assignments.

The new design is almost identical to the current dress blue coat worn by men, including a high mandarin collar but lacking breast and hip pockets.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has also called for a gender-neutral, “iconic” uniform for Marines.

In a speech at the Naval Academy in May, he touted his initiative to issue common uniform items across the Navy and Marine Corps as important to cohesion and morale.

“We are not trying to make women look like men, but make everybody look like a U.S. sailor or Marine,” Mabus said during a question-and-answer session following his speech.

Veterans Day 2023: Parades and ceremonies in Phoenix

Veterans Day 2023 is almost here and U.S. military members will be celebrated and recognized for their service and sacrifices. There will be parades, community events and special performances throughout metro Phoenix on and around Nov. 11.

Veterans Day falls on a Saturday this year, but observances will take place beginning Sunday, Nov. 5.

There will be parades in Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa and Surprise. Ceremonies to honor veterans and active military members will take place at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, Gilbert Regional Park and the Sun Bowl Amphitheater in Sun City.

Veterans Day 2023:Find free meals, discounts and deals at these metro Phoenix restaurants

When is Veterans Day?

Veterans Day is observed on Nov. 11. It recognizes the armistice during World War I between Germany and the Allies, which took effect on the 11th hour — Paris time — of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Nov. 11, 1919, as the first commemoration of Armistice Day.

When Congress passed an act in 1938, Nov. 11 became a holiday dedicated to Armistice Day and WWI veterans.

“In 1954, after World War II had required the greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen in the nation’s history, after American forces had fought aggression in Korea, the 83rd Congress, at the urging of the veterans service organizations, amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word ‘Armistice’ and inserting in its place the word ‘veterans,’” reads the VA’s website on the history of Veterans Day.

Now, Veterans Day is “a celebration to honor America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.”

What is the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day?

Memorial Day and Veterans Day both recognize those who have served in the U.S military.

Memorial Day is celebrated on the last Monday of May each year. It’s a day to honor U.S. military members who died on active duty. Veterans Day encompasses all service members.

Is Veterans Day a federal holiday?

Veterans Day is a federal holiday. Mail is not delivered; courts and nonessential federal and city offices are closed; banks and public schools are typically closed. Some public transportation options may be affected as well.

Veterans Day 2023 events in metro Phoenix

Sun City Veterans Day Tribute

The annual Sun City Veterans Day Tribute will feature the Ahwatukee Foothills Concert Band and Youth Chorus. The event is for Recreation Centers of Sun City members, cardholders and escorted guests. Bring lawn chairs or a blanket.

Details: 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 5. Sun Bowl Amphitheater, 10220 N. 107th Ave., Sun City. Free. suncityaz.org.

Gilbert Veterans Day Ceremony

The 19th annual Veterans Day Ceremony will take place at Gilbert Regional Park with a classic and custom car show, guest speakers, musical performances and more. Lawn seating will be available and guests are encouraged to bring a blanket or a lawn chair. Food trucks will be on site.

Details: 3-7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9. Gilbert Regional Park, 3005 E. Queen Creek Road, Gilbert. Free. gilbertaz.com.

Big band concert at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts

The Jazz Ambassadors is the official touring big band of the U.S. Army that formed in 1969. The 19-member ensemble plays big band swing to bebop, Latin, contemporary jazz and more. They'll be playing a concert in advance of Veterans Day in Scottsdale.

Details: 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9. Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, 7380 E. Second St. Free. scottsdaleperformingarts.org.

Surprise Veterans Day Parade

The ninth annual Surprise Veterans Day Parade will honor service men and women. The Surprise Police Department will serve a pancake breakfast from 7:30-9:30 a.m. at Surprise Stadium and the parade will kick off at 10 a.m.

Details: 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 11. Surprise Recreation Campus, 15960 N. Bullard Ave. Parade is free; pancake breakfast costs $7. surpriseaz.gov.

Fountain Hills Veterans Day Ceremony

The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7507 will host a Veterans Day ceremony at the Fountain Hills Veterans Memorial. It's a joint effort of the Veterans Service Organizations in Fountain Hills, the American Legion Post 58, Marine Corps League Detachment 1439 and VFW Post 7507.

Veterans Heritage Program's Storyteller of the Year Frank Lambert will be the keynote speaker. Lambert served as company commander of Company D, 1st Cavalry Division, in Vietnam from 1967-1968. He was awarded the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Silver Star, the Soldier's Medal, three Bronze Stars with Valor and two Purple Hearts.

Details: 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 11. Fountain Hills Veterans Memorial at Fountain Park, 7166 E. El Lago Blvd. Free.

Veterans Day Tribute at The Heard Museum

The Heard Museum opened the nation's first memorial to commemorate more than three centuries of American Indian military service in 2012. This year will mark the 11th celebration of the American Indian Veteran National Memorial with live music, veteran artists, films, Native dances, exhibitions and more.

Details: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11. Heard Museum, 2301 N. Central Ave., Phoenix. Free. heard.org.

Anthem Veterans Day Ceremony

The Anthem Veterans Day Ceremony will honor the service of all veterans and their families. The ceremony will end at 11:11 a.m. in honor of Armistice with the sun's rays shining through the Anthem Veterans Memorial's five military branch pillars onto the Great Seal of the United States.

Details: 10 a.m.-11:15 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 11. Veterans Memorial, 41703 N. Gavilan Peak Parkway, Anthem. Free. onlineatanthem.com.

Tempe Veterans Day Parade

The annual Tempe Veterans Day Parade will begin at ASU Gammage and make its way north on Mill Avenue before ending at Tempe Beach Park. Participants will include Tempe City Council members, Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, local school marching bands, veterans groups and more.

Details: 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 11. ASU Gammage, at 12th Street and Mill Avenue, Tempe. Free. downtowntempe.com.

Phoenix Veterans Day Parade

The Phoenix Veterans Day Parade began in 1997 to honor the contributions of U.S. veterans and build a patriotic community spirit. Among the eight Arizona veterans named as grand marshals is Thomas Begay, a Navajo Code Talker in World War II. The celebrity grand marshal is Kim Alexis, a supermodel in the 1980s.

The parade will head south on Central Avenue from Montebello Drive to Camelback Road, turning east on Camelback Road to Seventh Street, then south on Seventh Street and ending at Indian School Road.

Details: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11. Free. honoringamericasveterans.org.

East Valley Veterans Parade

The East Valley Veterans Parade provides an opportunity for the community to honor local military members and their families. The theme is "Vietnam Valor" to recognize the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.

The parade begins at Center Street and University Drive and runs south on Center Street to First Street, where it will turn west and continue to Robson.

Details: 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 11. Center Street and University Drive, Mesa. Free. evvp.org.

More Local Events:A cheeky pants-off light rail ride is coming back to Phoenix. How to join in (or miss it)

Meredith G. White is the entertainment reporter for The Arizona Republic |azcentral.com. You can find her on Facebook as Meredith G. White, on Instagram and Twitter as @meredithgwhite, and email her atmeredith.white@arizonarepublic.com.

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Reedy Creek: Why Disney has its own government in Florida and ...

Editor’s Note: This story was originally published on April 21, 2022. It has been updated to reflect Florida’s 2023 special legislative session.

CNN —

Disney’s Orlando-area theme parks and who will govern them are under renewed scrutiny in Florida – the latest in a yearlong spat between Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state’s largest private employer.

Lawmakers have returned to Tallahassee for a special session called in part to address what happens to Disney’s special taxing district, called the Reedy Creek Improvement District, after they previously passed legislation dissolving it, which was supposed to take effect in June.

State Republicans on Monday unveiled a bill to turn over control of Disney’s special taxing district to a five-member board hand-picked by DeSantis and rebrand Reedy Creek the “Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.”

The move to take over Reedy Creek comes after DeSantis sparred last year with Disney over a bill to restrict certain classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity.

Here’s a look at the history of Reedy Creek, why it has become the focus of another special legislative session in Florida, and how proposed changes would give DeSantis more control.

What is Reedy Creek?

Reedy Creek is the name for the Reedy Creek Improvement District, a special purpose district created by state law in May 1967 that gives The Walt Disney Company governmental control over the land in and around its central Florida theme parks. The district sits southwest of Orlando.

At the time, the land was little more than uninhabited pasture and swamp, according to Reedy Creek’s website. With the special purpose district, Disney took over responsibility for providing municipal services like power, water, roads and fire protection – but was also freed from dealing with legal red tape or paying taxes for services that benefited the broader public.

According to Richard Foglesong, the author of the book “Married to the Mouse: Walt Disney World and Orlando,” Disney had previously had issues with the government of Anaheim, California, at its Disneyland park, completed a decade earlier. With those issues in mind, Disney pushed for a special purpose district in Florida that would give the company the ability to self-govern.

In exchange, Florida became the home base for Disney World and its millions of tourists.

“Florida needed Disney more than Disney needed Florida,” Foglesong told CNN.

Today, the Reedy Creek special district encompasses about 25,000 acres in Orange and Osceola counties, including four theme parks, two water parks, one sports complex, 175 lane miles of roadway, 67 miles of waterway, and the cities of Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, its website says.

“The cooperation and commitment between the Reedy Creek Improvement District and Walt Disney World Company is as strong today as it was when the District was created in 1967,” the Reedy Creek website states. “The result is an example of how a working partnership between business and government can be prosperous for both sides.”

Why is this an issue now?

Last year, DeSantis challenged lawmakers to unravel the 55-year-old Reedy Creek Improvement Act as part of a special legislative session and ultimately signed a bill that would sunset the district on June 1.

Lawmakers left town without a plan to unwind a half-century of Disney control or for how to ensure Orange and Osceola county residents wouldn’t be on the hook for funding Reedy Creek services or its $1 billion in debt. Amid the fallout, Reedy Creek told its bondholders that Florida could not dissolve the district without assuming its debts.

DeSantis repeatedly offered assurances that taxpayers wouldn’t have to pick up the tab.

Now, GOP lawmakers have returned to the state Capitol and are trying to breath new life into the taxing district and keep many of its special powers. The final page of the 189-page bill proposed Monday states: “The Reedy Creek Improvement District is not dissolved as of June 1, 2023, but continues in full force and effect under its new name.”

The Republican-controlled legislature is likely to pass the proposed changes within the next couple of weeks and the governor is supportive of them.

What are lawmakers proposing?

The bill, introduced Monday by state Rep. Fred Hawkins, seeks to limit the damage that could be done to Disney, one of the state’s most vital tourism engines, and to taxpayers.

The measure guarantees that the changes to Reedy Creek will not affect the district’s existing debt or any other contracts.

Instead of ending the district, the proposed legislation would rebrand it as the “Central Florida Tourism Oversight District” and curb some of its powers, including the ability to build an airport or a nuclear power plant.

The board, previously made up of Reedy Creek landowners with close ties to Disney, will instead become a five-member board of supervisors appointed by the governor. The bill makes clear that none of the appointees chosen by the governor can be recent Disney employees or their relatives, nor that of a competitor. The state Senate, where Republicans hold a super majority, would have final approval of the appointees.

“These actions ensure a state-controlled district accountable to the people instead of a corporate-controlled kingdom,” DeSantis spokesman Jeremy Redfern said.

What has Disney said?

Disney said Monday it is watching the bill.

In a statement to CNN, Jeff Vahle, the president of Walt Disney World Resort, said the company is “monitoring the progression of the draft legislation, which is complex given the long history of the Reedy Creek Improvement District.”

“Disney works under a number of different models and jurisdictions around the world, and regardless of the outcome, we remain committed to providing the highest quality experience for the millions of guests who visit each year,” Vahle said.

What does this have to do with Florida schools?

Reedy Creek has been tied to the feud between DeSantis, who has widely been seen as a potential 2024 GOP presidential contender, and Disney over a measure that bans certain instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom.

The “Parental Rights in Education” bill – which critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill – was signed into law last March and prohibits schools from teaching children about sexual orientation or gender identity “in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate.” The legislation also allows parents to bring lawsuits against a school district for potential violations.

The law’s vague language and the threat of parental lawsuits have raised fears that it will lead to discrimination against LGBTQ students and will have a chilling effect on classroom discussion. DeSantis spokesperson Christina Pushaw said on Twitter last year that the legislation would protect kids from “groomers,” a slang term for pedophiles, and described those who oppose the law as “probably groomers.”

Bob Chapek, the then-CEO of Disney, which employs 75,000 people in Florida, initially declined to condemn the law last year but reversed course after facing employee criticism. A company spokesperson then released a statement stating its goal was for the law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts.

“Florida’s HB 1557, also known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, should never have passed and should never have been signed into law,” the March 2022 statement said. The company said it was “dedicated to standing up for the rights and safety of LGBTQ+ members of the Disney family, as well as the LGBTQ+ community in Florida and across the country.”

Eric Levenson Dianne Gallagher Steve Contorno Jack Forrest

Never mind China's new aircraft carrier, these are the ships the US ...

Seoul, South Korea CNN —

China made a big statement about its naval ambitions with the recent launch of its third and most advanced aircraft carrier.

The Fujian – by far China’s biggest, most modern and most powerful aircraft carrier to date – is the 80,000-ton jewel in the crown of a military expansion that has seen Beijing grow its navy into the world’s largest.

Its new combat systems – such as an electromagnetic catapult-assisted launch system – show China is fast catching up with the United States, experts say, and will give it the ability to launch more aircraft, more quickly, and with more ammunition.

That should be enough to give any would-be opponent pause for thought, especially given China’s increasing aggression in its territorial disputes with Japan in the East China Sea, a host of Southeast Asian nations in the South China Sea, and its repeated harassment of the self-governed island of Taiwan – where it has pointedly refused to rule out an invasion.

China's third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, at Jiangnan Shipyard on June 17. Li Tang/VCG/Getty Images

Still, while the launch of the Fujian amid much fanfare was clearly meant as a message to Beijing’s rivals, analysts caution against swallowing too much of the hype just yet.

Firstly, the Fujian likely won’t be operational for another three to four years, said Carl Schuster, a former US Navy captain and former director of operations at the US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center. And even when it is operational, its size will make it an obvious target – any enemy will be keenly aware that sinking such an iconic vessel would be as much of a morale blow as a military disaster for China.

The launch ceremony for China's third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, at Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai, on June 17. Li Tang/VCG/Getty Images

Then there is the simple fact that, impressive as they seem, aircraft carriers aren’t necessarily best suited to what experts see as the most plausible conflict scenarios in the near future – including clashes in the East and South China Seas and an invasion of Taiwan.

Essentially, experts say, the Fujian might be China’s biggest ship, but it’s probably not the biggest problem on the minds of US naval commanders right now.

Here are four types of ship at China’s disposal that arguably pose a far greater threat to US naval dominance.

China's type 055 guided-missile destroyer Nanchang in the Western Pacific on October 19, 2021. Sun Zifa/China News Service/Getty Images

Type 055 destroyer

Launched in 2017, these 13,000-ton stealth guided-missile destroyers are considered by many to be the most powerful surface combatants in the world.

The Type 055, big enough to be considered a cruiser by NATO standards, is equipped with 112 vertical launch tubes that can used to fire everything from anti-ship missiles to long-range land-attack missiles.

“This ship in particular has a sophisticated design, stealth features, radars, and a large missile inventory. It is larger and more powerful than most US, Japanese, and South Korean destroyers,” RAND Corp. senior analyst Timothy Heath told CNN in 2018, when Beijing launched two of the warships in a single day – a testament to China’s impressive shipbuilding capabilities.

A US Congressional Research Service report in March said at least 10 Type 055s are thought to have been launched or are under construction.

The deployment of the Lhasa, the second of Beijing’s five active Type 055s, to the Sea of Japan for drills amid growing tensions over Taiwan, was championed by China’s state-run Global Times tabloid last week.

“The ship has achieved full operational capability and demonstrated its capabilities in deterring possible foreign military interference in the Taiwan Strait at a time when the US and Japan have been repeatedly provoking China over the Taiwan question,” the Global Times reported.

The potency of the Type 055 was underlined in footage that emerged on social media in April. It showed one launching what naval analyst H I Sutton said was a hypersonic YJ-21 anti-ship ballistic missile – a weapon often referred to as a “carrier killer.”

Global Times played down the footage, describing the missiles as part of the country’s defensive strategy.

“If the US does not make military provocations against China, including over the Taiwan question, it does not need to worry about the missiles,” it said.

China's Liaoning aircraft carrier is accompanied by navy frigates and submarines during an exercise in the South China Sea. Li Gang/AP

Type 039 submarine

These Yuan-class submarines are almost silent diesel-electric-powered boats with capabilities that could prove tough for US military planners to deal with.

Beijing has built 17 of the Type 39A/B subs, with plans to increase that total to 25 in the next three years, according to the US Defense Department’s 2021 report to Congress on China’s military power.

“The Type 039 SSs provide formidable ‘defense in depth’” in waters close to China, “and they appear to be developing some capability to engage” US forces farther out to sea, Schuster said.

The subs are equipped with air independent propulsion (AIP), which means they do not need to surface as frequently to get the air required for diesel combustion, which can then power their batteries.

“When operating on batteries, AIP-equipped submarines are almost silent, with the only noise coming from the shaft bearings, propeller, and flow around the hull,” US Navy officers Michael Walker and Austin Krusz wrote in a 2018 report for the US Naval Institute’s Proceedings magazine.

China is pushing to launch more of the super-quiet subs, which are armed with anti-ship cruise missiles, the Defense Department report said.

One potent method of attack used by the Type 039 is to fire a “wake-homing” torpedo across the stern, or back, of a target vessel. The torpedo then follows in the wake of the target ship before exploding near its propulsion and steering systems.

Because surface ships detect submarines and torpedoes by sound waves, wake-homing torpedoes are particularly tough to defend against.

The advances in Chinese submarines come just as the US Navy is experiencing trouble with its anti-submarine capabilities.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday told Congress last month that the service wants to scrap nine of its littoral combat ships, some of the newest ships in the US fleet, because their anti-submarine systems “did not work out technically.”

A merchant ferry at Yantai Port in Shandong province of China. Tang Ke/VCG/Getty Images

Merchant ferries

Merchant ferries might not be the first thing that springs to mind when you think about deadly naval capabilities – but therein lies their power.

To invade Taiwan, China would likely need to transport an invading force of hundreds of thousands of men – some analysts have suggested more than a million would be needed.

Various analysts – and US government reports – have concluded the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) naval fleet is not up to that task.

But what China does have is a massive fleet of civilian ferries that could be swiftly converted for military use – and according to some, may even have been designed for just that possibility.

“China’s biggest ferry shipbuilder stated publicly in 2015 that one of its largest roll-on/roll-off ferries was built for dual military and civilian purposes, and one of China’s largest ferry operators has been similarly described as having a dual civil-military development philosophy,” Thomas Shugart, a former US Navy submarine commander now a fellow at the Center for a New American Security, wrote in a 2021 essay for War on the Rocks.

He added that civilian ferry companies operating in the Yellow and South China Seas have already been organized into PLA auxiliary units.

Crunching the numbers, said Shugart, was staggering. He estimated that using civilian ships would give China an extra 1.1 million displacement tonnes. That figure is more than three times the displacement tonnage of all of China’s amphibious assault ships put together. And if China tapped Hong Kong’s roll-on/roll-off vehicle carriers it could gain an extra 370,000 tonnes of sealift, according to Shugart.

Is that enough to take Taiwan by force?

That is hard to know. But Shugart said it did answer one question.

“How many transport (ships) does the Chinese military have? Very probably, more than you might think.”

Chinese vessels moored at Whitsun Reef in the South China Sea in 2021. AP

Maritime militia

Ferries aren’t the only supposedly civilian vessels military planners have on their radars.

Experts also accuse China of creating a maritime militia, made up of more than a hundred vessels supposedly engaged in commercial fishing, to enforce its wishes in disputed seas.

The militia – which Beijing denies even exists – is made up of at least 122 vessels and likely as many as 174, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

But the actual number could be even greater. Various experts suspected the militia’s involvement when more than 200 Chinese fishing boats crowded the waters around Whitsun Reef in the South China Sea in early 2021. The reef is claimed by both China and the Philippines, which described the presence of the boats as a “clear provocative action.”

“The People’s Armed Forces Maritime Militia don’t fish,” Schuster told CNN last year. “They have automatic weapons aboard and reinforced hulls, making them very dangerous at close range. Also, they have a top speed of around 18-22 knots, making them faster than 90% of the world’s fishing boats.”

The militia has two main parts: professional militia boats and actual fishing boats employed by the Chinese military under a subsidy scheme, according to a November report from the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

The professionals lead such activities as harassing foreign drilling ships or blocking foreign fishing boats, and the subsidized fishers bring pressure in numbers, the CSIS report said.

And with the world’s largest fishing fleet, China has plenty of reserves to call on.

About that carrier again

Still, none of this is to say that the launch of the Fujian is not a significant moment.

As in the US, aircraft carriers will in time become the centerpiece of the PLA’s navy – and a symbol of what the modern Chinese military is capable of, Schuster said.

“Fujian’s launch should be viewed for what it portends rather than its limited immediate impact,” Schuster said.

“China has now launched three carriers and brought two into full operational status during a period where the US Navy has struggled to bring one new unit to full operational status,” he said.

Schuster was referring to the USS Gerald Ford, a supercarrier that has been plagued by problems since its commissioning in 2017 (by which time it was already three years late).

The supercarrier is yet to make its first operational deployment, though that is expected this fall.

Meanwhile, China forges ahead.

“They are building their navy at a faster rate than the US and all of its allies,” Schuster said.

“Imperfect, but a good foundation.”

Biden says US would respond 'militarily' if China attacked Taiwan ...

Tokyo CNN —

President Joe Biden said Monday that the United States would intervene militarily if China attempts to take Taiwan by force, a warning that appeared to deviate from the deliberate ambiguity traditionally held by Washington.

The White House quickly downplayed the comments, saying they don’t reflect a change in US policy. It’s the third time in recent months – including during a CNN town hall in October – that Biden has said the US would protect Taiwan from a Chinese attack, only to have the White House walk back those remarks.

During a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo, Biden was asked if the US would be willing to go further to help Taiwan in the event of an invasion than it did with Ukraine.

“You didn’t want to get involved in the Ukraine conflict militarily for obvious reasons. Are you willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan if it comes to that?” a reporter asked.

“Yes,” Biden replied. “That’s the commitment we made.”

“We agree with the One China policy. We signed on to it, and all the attendant agreements made from there, but the idea that it can be taken by force, just taken by force, is (just not) appropriate,” he said.

Under the “One China” policy, the US acknowledges China’s position that Taiwan is part of China, but has never officially recognized Beijing’s claim to the self-governing island of 23 million. The US provides Taiwan defensive weapons, but has remained intentionally ambiguous on whether it would intervene militarily in the event of a Chinese attack.

Video Ad Feedback Biden's balancing act amid tensions between mainland China and Taiwan 02:41 - Source: CNN

Biden’s strong warning was made right on China’s doorstep during his first trip to Asia as President. The visit is aimed at uniting allies and partners to counter China’s rising influence. It also came a day before Biden is scheduled to attend the second in-person summit of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) – an informal grouping between the US, Japan, Australia and India that has alarmed Beijing.

Several of Biden’s top administration officials were caught off-guard by the remarks, several aides told CNN, adding that they were not expecting Biden to be so unequivocal.

In a statement following Biden’s comments, a White House official said the US’ official position remained unchanged.

“As the President said, our policy has not changed. He reiterated our One China policy and our commitment to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. He also reiterated our commitment under the Taiwan Relations Act to provide Taiwan with the military means to defend itself,” the official said.

Within hours, China had expressed its “strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition” to Biden’s comments, saying it will not allow any external force to interfere in its “internal affairs.”

“On issues concerning China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and other core interests, there is no room for compromise,” said Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

“We urged the US side to earnestly follow the One China principle … be cautious in words and deeds on the Taiwan issue, and not send any wrong signal to pro-Taiwan independence and separatist forces — so it won’t cause serious damage to the situation across the Taiwan Strait and China-US relations.”

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian added, “We urge the US to stop saying or doing anything in violation of the one-China principle and the three China-US Joint Communiqués. … Those who play with fire will certainly burn themselves.”

Taiwan lies fewer than 110 miles (177 kilometers) off the coast of China. For more than 70 years the two sides have been governed separately, but that hasn’t stopped China’s ruling Communist Party from claiming the island as its own — despite having never controlled it.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has said that “reunification” between China and Taiwan is inevitable and refused to rule out the use of force. Tensions between Beijing and Taipei are at the highest they’ve been in recent decades, with the Chinese military sending record numbers of war planes near the island.

Joanne Ou, a spokesperson for Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told CNN that it “expresses sincere welcome and gratitude to President Biden and the United States government for reiterating its rock solid commitment to Taiwan.”

Biden compares potential invasion of Taiwan to Ukraine war

Biden on Monday compared a potential invasion of Taiwan by China to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, warning, “It will dislocate the entire region,” and emphasizing “Russia has to pay a long-term price for its actions.”

“And the reason I bother to say this, not just about Ukraine – if, in fact, after all (Russian President Vladimir Putin has) done, there’s a rapprochement … between the Ukrainians and Russia, and these sanctions are not continued to be sustained in many ways, then what signal does that send to China about the cost of attempting, attempting to take Taiwan by force?”

Biden said that China is “already flirting with danger right now by flying so close and all the maneuvers they’re undertaking.”

“But the United States is committed, we made a commitment, we support the One China policy, we support all we’ve done in the past, but that does not mean, it does not mean that China has the ability, has the, excuse me, jurisdiction to go in and use force to take over Taiwan,” he added.

At the press conference, Kishida also reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

“Attempts to change the status quo by force, like Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, should never be tolerated in the Indo-Pacific, above all, in East Asia,” he said.

“As the regional security environment becomes increasingly severe, I reaffirmed with President Biden that we need to speedily strengthen the deterrence and response of the Japan-US alliance,” he said, adding that he conveyed his determination to “fundamentally strengthen Japan’s defense capability.”

This story has been updated with additional reporting and reaction.

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