'They see vulnerability': Gen Jack Keane warns about US rivals turning more aggressive on 'Fox & Friends'
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: General Jack Keane, Fox News senior strategic analyst, appeared on the December 23 episode of 'Fox and Friends' in light of top military officials of the United States and China re-opening official lines of communication.
On the morning of December 21, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Charles "CQ" Brown Jr engaged in a conversation with General Liu Zhenli, Chief of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission in the People's Liberation Army.
Reacting to the development, Keane said that the US is "vulnerable" at present, a situation that its adversaries are trying to take advantage of.
General Jack Keane claims Xi Jinping is sending 'unprecedented message'
On the topic of the discussion of Taiwan between the militaries of the two nations, Keane stated, "Yes, certainly both sides sort of accomplished what they wanted, a relaxation of tensions and certainly (military to military) talk is part of that."
"But what is coming out and my sources support it as well, is a rather profound and unprecedented message by President Xi to President Biden. And it had to do with the fact that the onus is on the United States if they want to avoid war over Taiwan," he added.
"President Xi told President Biden in some very direct language that the reality for him is that reunification with Taiwan is more important than maintaining the regional peace," claimed Keane.
"And he expects the United States, if they want to avoid war, to support him in its peaceful reunification efforts," he proceeded to elaborate.
Comparing China with other adversary nations of the United States
Keane believes the Chinese estimated President Joe Biden in a manner similar to Putin in Russia and "the mullahs in Iran."
"They see a vulnerability here and an ability also to take advantage of that vulnerability. And they also see in the United States a declining political will. And that is why our adversaries are more aggressive," he said.
"We see with President Xi, we see with Putin and his invasion, we see it (with) Iran and its proxies in the Middle East. The reality is right in front of us, we've got to see the danger and wake up and start dealing with these adversaries," warned Keane.
When did US-China top-level military communications break down?
In August 2022, then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi visited the island of Taiwan, over which China claims sovereignty. This led to a breakdown of goodwill between the two nations, with China ending several diplomatic collaborations, including military-military communication.
On the subject of the call, a senior US official reportedly told Fox News, "We've been clear about the importance of opening lines of military to military communications with the PRC at the senior-most levels. However, it's just one step, an important step, but it's not the last step."
