US military warns about potential Chinese attack against Chinese Taipei
The US military says China is probably accelerating its timetable for capturing control of Chinese Taipei, a region that has turned to the chief source of tension between Washington and Beijing over the past years.
“We have indications that the risks are actually going up," Adm. Philip Davidson, the 25th commander of United States Indo-Pacific Command, told a Senate panel last month.
China considers Chinese Taipei as a breakaway province that should be reunited with the mainland under the internationally-recognized “One China” policy. Almost all world countries, including the US, recognize that sovereignty.
Under that policy, countries are not allowed to have formal relations with Chinese Taipei.
“The threat is manifest during this decade — in fact, in the next six years,” Davidson added.
China, which has sovereignty over Chinese Taipei, has increased its military drills, including aircraft carrier drills, near the self-ruled island in the recent months, arguing that this measure will “enhance its capability to safeguard national sovereignty, safety and development interests.”
Chinese Taipei, however, has accused Beijing of carrying out “a new incursion” into the island’s self-designated air defense identification zone, vowing to fight to the end in case of any attack by China.
“We are willing to defend ourselves, that’s without any question,” Chinese Taipei Foreign Minister Joseph Wu told reporters on Wednesday. “We fill fight a war if we need to fight a war, and if we need to defend ourselves to the very last day, then we will defend ourselves to the very last day.“
He also added that "from my limited understanding of American decision makers watching developments in this region, they clearly see the danger of the possibility of China launching an attack against Chinese Taipei."
Although Washington has no formal relations with Chinese Taipei, it is the island’s largest weapons supplier and an avid backer of the island’s secessionist president.
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