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US Admiral Charles A. Richard warns with haunting words about a conflict with China. “The crisis in Ukraine we are now experiencing is just the prelude,” the commander-in-chief of the US nuclear forces said in a speech to other US military personnel in early November. “The big conflict is yet to come. And it won’t be long before we’re being tested in ways we haven’t seen in a long time,” Richard said in his speech, parts of which the Pentagon later released.

Richard cited a possible Chinese attack on Taiwan as a possible trigger for a war between China and the US. Beijing considers the island nation of 23 million inhabitants a breakaway province. State and party leader Xi Jinping has repeatedly threatened Taiwan with an attack. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Chinese navy attempted to isolate Taiwan from the sea during a day-long maneuver.

US admiral warns: ‘The ship is sinking’

“We need some quick and fundamental changes in national defense,” said US Admiral Richard. “As far as our deterrence of China goes, the ship is sinking. It’s going down slowly, but it’s going down because the Chinese are bringing their skills to the field faster than we are. And this curve continues to rise,” says Richard. “It doesn’t matter how good our commanders or our horses are – we just won’t have enough. And we will face this problem in the near future.”

As head of the nuclear power, Richard specifically warned about the loss of his country’s nuclear deterrent capabilities against China. This ability could be crucial in stopping Beijing’s leaders from attacking Taiwan. “The current situation is a vivid demonstration of how nuclear threats can be used and how one can or cannot respond to them,” Richard said, referring to the Kremlin’s nuclear saber chatter. At the start of the war, Moscow warned NATO states against intervening in Ukraine. Later, Kremlin chief Putin and others threatened Ukraine with tactical nuclear weapons.

Richard calls for “Spirit of 1969”

In order not to fall behind China technologically and militarily, Richard called for a radical rethink. “We used to be very fast and we lost the skills,” said Richard. “We need to get faster at solving problems instead of just talking about them. That was the ghost that landed us on the moon in 1969. We have to bring that spirit back, otherwise China will lose us and Russia will not go anywhere for a while.”

The trade journal “The War Zone” calls Richard’s warning of a war with China “truly astonishing”. It’s rare for senior US officials to be so gloomy about technological competition with China. “Of course, such comments can also be aimed at getting more money for your own department,” writes “The War Zone” of Richard’s speech. “But there’s no sign of that. On the contrary, the speech seems to be yet another indication that the strategic situation is shifting in China’s favor, and that this is happening quickly.” (t-online.de/mk)