The Military Imbalance in the Taiwan Strait

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth drew some controversy over the weekend after he called China a "real" and potentially "imminent" threat and said that the country was “credibly preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific”. The comments were made Saturday at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore. The below chart shows the balance (or rather imbalance) of military power in the Taiwan Strait.

China's clearly stated goal has been "reunification" with Taiwan but it has never ruled out the possibility of using military force to achieve this. In recent years, it has modernized its military, introducing the J-20, an indigenous 5th generation stealth fighter. It has also commissioned two aircraft carriers along with several modern amphibious transport docking and landing vessels. Even though the likelihood of China taking Taiwan by force remains unclear, the military balance in the Taiwan Strait is firmly in China's favor. This infographic provides an overview of that imbalance and is based on an annual U.S. government report released in December.