A former US National Security Adviser (NSA) has warned that conditions surrounding Taiwan are entering a "very dangerous time" given China's increasing military incursion into Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ).
The former Army general, who serve barely more than a year as Trump's security aide, said China's Communist Party is facing the recognition that Taiwan is resilient and strengthening its defences under President Tsai Ing-wen, NHK World reported.
The former security official said the US, Japan, Australia and other allies in the region must convince Beijing that it cannot accomplish its objectives through the use of force or coercion. He further added that developments must be watched closely, especially in 2022 after the Beijing Winter Olympics are over.
This comes as Taiwan has recorded more than 600 Chinese sorties into its ADIZ this year.
Chinese military aircraft started flying into Taiwan's ADIZ in March 2019. There were 380 incursions in the southwest corner of Taiwan's ADIZ, Taiwan News reported.
Since mid-September of last year, Beijing has stepped up its grey-zone tactics by regularly sending planes into Taiwan's ADIZ, with most instances occurring in the southwest corner of the zone and usually consisting of one to three slow-flying turboprop planes.
On Wednesday, Taiwan Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said that China may consider mounting a full-scale invasion of the island by 2025.
"At the moment, the Communist Party of China already has the ability to invade Taiwan, but the island has done nothing to provoke such actions. However, by 2025, the CPC will have all the wherewithal to conduct a full-scale invasion," the defence minister said, as quoted by Sputnik.
The Taiwanese Ministry of Defense is carrying out all necessary preparations, he added.
Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.
Taipei has countered the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing. China has threatened that "Taiwan's independence" means war.
( With inputs from ANI )
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