Gen. Keane: What is happening to the Russians in Ukraine will not deter China
Fox News senior strategic analyst Gen. Jack Keane (Ret.) on report that Russian invasion of Ukraine stopped China's invasion plan for Taiwan
Fox News senior strategic analyst Gen. Jack Keane (Ret.) responded Thursday to reports from a whistleblower that the Russian invasion in Ukraine stopped China's plans to invade Taiwan. Keane explained on "Fox & Friends" he does not believe Russia's military struggles impacted Chinese President Xi Jinping's plans.
BIDEN TO TALK ABOUT UKRAINE CRISIS WITH CHINA'S XI JINPING
GEN. JACK KEANE: Strategically, [invading Taiwan] doesn't make any sense. I mean, just think about it, they just finished the Olympics. They're heading towards the 20th National Party Congress in the fall, which is a big deal in the Chinese government process, and this is where they fully intend to enshrine President Xi for a third term, likely it's indefinite. And certainly everything is focused on that event. They're not going to start a war around that event at all. Now, listen, they're paying close attention to what's happening here, certainly then noting NATO's strengthened and more unified. They're noting the EU coming together and pushing some pretty hard sanctions on Russia, and they're going to look at that. Their number one trading partner is the EU, and they're going to look at what would those sanctions mean for them. Certainly, they're looking at the Ukrainian resistance taking place. They know full well that President Tsai, who's the leader of Taiwan, is tough. Just like Zelenskyy, she's the toughest leader they've ever had to deal with since 1947, when the Communists took over.
So does this impact? Yes, it does, but this is a fact: President Xi is determined as ever to bring Taiwan into his orbit. And I don't believe for a minute that the adverse impacts of what's taking place to Russia, that they're heading toward a strategic failure as a result of this invasion, necessarily correlates to him and put curbs on what his strategic objectives are. He is focused on his strategic objectives for his national interest. And what's happening to the Russians, in my judgment, will not deter him.
WATCH FULL VIDEO BELOW:
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox