Expert warns US over China flashing military capabilities: ‘Ready’ for war

With China flashing its military capabilities this past weekend, one foreign policy expert sounded the alarm on the Chinese Communist Party’s "fast" war preparations – and America’s lack thereof.

"There's only one president who can do something about it, and that's the current one," Gatestone Institute senior fellow Gordon Chang said on "Mornings with Maria" Monday. "And he's not. He doesn't have a sense of urgency, which means that the Pentagon doesn't have a sense of urgency, and China does."

"We can argue all day about whether they will actually go to war or whether they're bluffing," he continued, "but the point is these guys in Beijing are ready to go to war – and we're not."

Chang’s comments come on the heels of a flurry of Chinese warplane drills over Taiwan between Friday and Saturday. The Associated Press reported that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army sent 37 aircraft and seven navy vessels around the island, and 22 of the planes crossed the Taiwan Strait’s midline.

CHINA DOESN'T WANT TRADE WAR WITH U.S. BUT WILL RETALIATE AGAINST NEW RESTRICTIONS, AMBASSADOR WARNS

The "alarming" drills, as Chang called them, are a part of China’s posture towards Taiwan which the expert argued mimics the 2024 presidential election.

"I don't think that they'll go to war in the next several months, but the point is that you could have an accident with so many planes in the air, and with so many Chinese vessels circulating around Taiwan that you could have a conflict well before that presidential election," Chang explained.

China and the U.S. will face their next tension test next month, as Taiwanese Vice President William Lai will attempt to travel through America on his way to Paraguay.

"China is doing everything possible to prevent that visit, and we will see a lot about what the Biden administration's posture towards Taiwan will be: whether they allow that visit or not, and how much activity Lai will be permitted in the U.S. If they do allow the visit," the policy expert pointed out.

During a White House briefing on Friday, President Biden appeared to shuffle away and refused to answer a reporter's question about China relations.

Chang argued that Biden's actions prove the president wants to maintain open communication and diplomatic relations with the communist country.

"China will talk to us when they want to talk to us. They won't talk to us when they don't want to talk. We should not be intimidated by what we think they might do," Chang noted. "We've got to protect our critical infrastructure, whether we're talking about emails or whether we're talking about our grid. The Biden administration's not protecting that."

"The point is these guys in Beijing are ready to go to war – and we're not."

- Gordon Chang

With China’s economy in a "disastrous" state, according to Chang, its' leader is committed to finding a way to get out on top.

"Xi Jinping's form of diplomacy these days is to intimidate everybody else into submission. And I think that he's doing that because he realizes how many problems he has at home," the expert said.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

"So Xi Jinping's only alternative is to get everyone to do what he wants, or go to war. And so we're at a point where we don't have this sense of urgency because right now, this situation is serious."

The U.S. Department of State did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

READ MORE FROM FOX BUSINESS