(Tony Sifert, Headline USA) The Taiwanese military has published an official handbook that instructs the “general public” on what to do if and when the Chinese invade, the Daily Mail reported.
The publication of the guide, reportedly the first of its kind, revealed how tensions between China and Taiwan have risen in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Chinese Communist Party views Taiwan “as part of its territory and has vowed to one day seize it, by force if necessary,” according to the Daily Mail.
United States intelligence has recently claimed China has constructed additional missile silos in an attempt to deter an American intervention should China invade Taiwan, the Mail reported.
While American officials have suggested that Chinese President Xi Jinping has been “surprised and unsettled” by Russia‘s apparent lack of success in the Ukraine, they have also recently warned against underestimating “President Xi and the Chinese leadership’s determination with regard to Taiwan.”
“I think we’re still trying to learn what President Xi Jinping has learned from [Russia’s invasion],” Admiral John Aquilino, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee in March.
“And we continue to watch to try to identify has he learned the correct lessons as it applies to the changing world order,” he said.
President Joe Biden also addressed the question of Taiwan in a phone call with the Chinese president on March 18.
“President Biden reiterated that the United States remains committed to our one-China policy and is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the Three Joint Communiqués, and the Six Assurances,” a White House official told reporters. “And he underscored the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”
These documents form the basis of the United States’ “policy of strategic ambiguity” with regard to its willingness to militarily support Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, Armed Services Chairman Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., has said.
During the March meeting, Reed argued that the United States “should maintain the policy of strategic ambiguity that has helped to maintain the peace in Taiwan Strait for decades,” and suggested that “changing our policy to strategic clarity could actually lead to escalation.”
