House Select Committee Warns: "The Window to Deter War with China is Closing Fast"

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a high-stakes hearing last week, the House Select Committee on China delivered an urgent message: the clock is ticking to stop a war in the Indo-Pacific—and this Congress may be America’s last full chance to do it.

Hearing Recap and Summary:

Chairman John Moolenaar didn’t mince words, saying, “2027 is not an American date but a Chinese one,” referencing Xi Jinping’s order for the PLA to be ready to take Taiwan by force. "Deterrence delayed is deterrence denied."

Regarding the threat of war in the Indo-Pacific, Chairman Moolenaar continued with, “We are not seeking war. We are trying to prevent one. And prevention only works if Xi believes that the cost of aggression is too high to bear.”

Retired General Charles Flynn, former head of U.S. Army Pacific, said the threat of invasion is no longer distant or theoretical. “You can't invade Taiwan unless you can generate an invasion force—and that is what we must prevent.”

Flynn warned that the U.S. has overinvested in sea and air power while neglecting land-based forces that can actually deny the PLA its objective, “the PLA does not fear our ships and aircraft... What it fears is a credible force that can counter its Army... before it ever reaches Taiwan.”

Rear Admiral (Ret.) Mark Montgomery added that China is preparing to strike not just with missiles—but with malware and economic coercion, “America’s ability to deter China is withering. And, thus, the risk of a conflict is growing.Taiwan is too small to handle the Chinese challenge alone. The stories of egregious foreign military sales delays are not anecdotal. They are persistent.”

Former Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell praised the Committee’s bipartisan leadership and said allies around the world are watching how America responds, "the real challenge that we face—if we have a faltering of our will... that is what China wants. We must keep our capabilities shifting more of our capacity to the Indo-Pacific, recognizing that this is where the ultimate challenge to American power is in the 21st century.”