“No immediate danger”
US does not expect Chinese attack on Taiwan
03/23/2023, 11:01 am
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, concerns are growing that China could invade Taiwan in a similar fashion. However, the USA does not see any threat at the moment, but assures the island state of military assistance in the event of a Chinese attack.
According to the US government, it currently sees no immediate danger of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Such a threat is currently not recognizable, said Air Force Secretary of State Frank Kendall on the sidelines of a military technology conference in Singapore. He also hopes that it will never happen. However, the USA is ready to defend the democratically governed island.
China regards Taiwan as a breakaway province and wants reunification. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has heightened fears that China could also resort to war in the Taiwan conflict. Tensions in the conflict had escalated last August when then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi paid an official visit to Taiwan.
China saw this as a provocation and responded with large-scale military maneuvers in the immediate vicinity of Taiwan. The leadership in Beijing sees such visits as an attempt to strengthen Taiwan’s independence. Recently, the trip to Taiwan by Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger triggered criticism in China.
Today, Thursday, China’s military says it has asked a US warship to leave its territorial waters in the South China Sea. After entering the waters around the Paracel Islands, the destroyer USS Milius was “warned” to “leave the area,” the People’s Liberation Army’s Southern Territorial Command said. The US military immediately dismissed the claims from China as “false”.