US Admiral Warns Beijing Pacific Conflict Could Happen This Year

Taiwanese navy launches a U.S.-made Standard missile from a frigate during the annual Han Kuang Drill, on the sea near the Suao navy harbor in Yilan county, Taiwan on July 26, 2022. Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images

A senior U.S. naval commander has warned that Beijing could start a military conflict as soon as this year and that the Indo-pacific needs to be prepared to experience conflict in the near future.

Speaking at an event hosted on Oct. 20 by the Atlantic Council in Washington, Admiral Mike Gilday, chief of U.S. naval operations, said there was a chance of imminent war in the Asia-pacific.