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The highest-ranking American military officer says U.S. officials need to “lower the rhetoric” on China.
Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, says that while Washington needs “cold-eyed realism” about the prospect of a potential U.S.-China military clash, America is not on the “brink of war” with China as some officials have warned.
“There’s a lot of rhetoric in China, and a lot of rhetoric elsewhere, to include the United States, that could create the perception that war is right around the corner or we’re on the brink of war with China,” Gen. Milley said in an interview with Defense One.
“It is possible that you could have an incident or some other trigger event that could lead to uncontrolled escalation. So, it’s not impossible. But I don’t think at this point I would put it in the likely category,” the joint chiefs chairman said, according to a summary of the interview published Friday.
“And I think that the rhetoric itself can overheat the environment,” he said.
Gen. Milley‘s comments follow a barrage of warnings from lower-tier U.S. military officials in recent months about the threat of a military escalation with China.
In January, an Air Force general warned that the U.S. could be at war with China within two years, pointing to danger stemming from the Chinese Communist Party’s publicly stated ambition to absorb Taiwan and increasing Chinese military activity near the U.S.-backed island democracy.
In an unusual memo to troops, Gen.
