China Military Drills, a Pentagon Memo and a Question: What Next for Taiwan?

military exercise off the coast of Taiwan, simulating both an invasion and a naval blockade of the island. Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported on what it said were the contents of a Pentagon memo suggesting a robust U.S. military commitment to defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese incursion. 

In public comments made after the Post report, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that the U.S. would ensure “robust, ready and credible deterrence” across the Taiwan Strait, and he called China an “aggressive and coercive” presence in the region.