U.S. Army Pacific Commander: China May Be Able to Seize Taiwan by 2027, U.S. Forces Are Preparing

INDO-PACIFIC — General Ronald Clark, commanding general of U.S. Army Pacific, addressed an audience at the TechNet Indo-Pacific conference in Honolulu on October 27.

He said that the command has prepared the theater under the assumption that China will have the capacity and possibly the intent to seize Taiwan by military force in 2027, adding that the threat posed by the period identified in 2021 by then-Adm. Philip Davidson remains valid for U.S. Army Pacific.

In 2021, Davidson, then head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, briefed a Senate committee that China was on course to achieve the military capacity to seize Taiwan by 2027.

Clark, who served as Davidson’s chief of staff at the time, described the period as one for which the command is setting a readiness line.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence stated in its 2026 Annual Threat Assessment that Chinese leaders do not currently plan to execute an invasion of Taiwan in 2027 and do not have a fixed timeline for achieving unification.

Locations Affected

The remarks were delivered in Honolulu, Hawaii, at the Hilton Hawaiian Village during the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) TechNet Indo-Pacific conference. U.S. Army Pacific is headquartered at Fort Shafter, Hawaii.

The posture described involves rotational placement of equipment, materiel and personnel on island chains west of the international date line in the First and Second Island Chains.

Official Statements

• Gen. Ronald Clark, Commanding General, U.S. Army Pacific, October 27, 2026: “The question is, is the window still valid? The answer for us at USARPAC is yes.”

• Gen. Ronald Clark, Commanding General, U.S. Army Pacific, October 27, 2026: “Again, it’s not a date that we think that conflict will happen. It is a period of time for which we’re snapping the chalk line to say we need to be ready by this date.”

• Gen. Ronald Clark, Commanding General, U.S. Army Pacific, October 27, 2026: “There are 157 days between today and two April. So that mark on the wall for us and our headquarters is to ensure that we are in position, postured forward to deter war in a window in which our adversary may find it to their advantage to attack Taiwan.”

• Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 2026 Annual Threat Assessment, March 2026: “Chinese leaders do not currently plan to execute an invasion of Taiwan in 2027, nor do they have a fixed timeline for achieving unification.”