Ukraine: Professor warns of 'similar invasion' of Taiwan from China

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This comes amid fears from Taipei that China could take advantage of the world’s preoccupation with Ukraine to renew efforts in bringing Taiwan back into the central governmental fold. Taiwan, which democratically elects its own government, is claimed by China under its ‘One China’ policy.

Beijing has said it intends to bring Taiwan back under its control through whatever means necessary.

The US has never committed to formal diplomatic relations with Taipei, but is bound to support the island via other means, such as the supply of weaponry.

The delegation from the US arrived in Taipei on Tuesday, led by previous chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mike Mullen.

Mr Mullen previously served as the top American military official under both George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Mr Mullen is accompanied by two former National Security Council senior directors for Asia, Mike Green and Evan Medeiros, in addition to Meghan O’Sullivan, a former deputy national security adviser, and ex-Obama undersecretary for defence, Michele Flournoy.

A US official told Reuters: “The selection of these five individuals sends an important signal about the bipartisan U.S. commitment to Taiwan and its democracy, and demonstrates that the Biden administration’s broader commitment to Taiwan remains rock solid.”

They added: “The United States will maintain the capacity to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security or the social or economic system of the people of Taiwan.”

The group was met by Taiwan’s Foreign Minister, Joseph Wu, as they landed in Taipei on Tuesday morning.

They are scheduled to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday.

This coincides with a separate visit by ex-Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, to the Taiwanese capital on Wednesday.

US support for Taiwan is a constant sticking point in negotiations between Beijing and Washington, and a point of heightened tension in the South China Sea.

Wang Wenbin, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, condemned the trip and the US’s commitment to the island as “bound to fail”.

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Mr Wang added: “The will of the Chinese people to defend our country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is immovable.

“Whoever United States sends to show support for Taiwan is bound to fail.”

This is a sharp contrast to the rhetoric of Taiwan’s premier, Su Tseng-chang, who called the US’s backing for the sovereignty of the island “a very good thing”.

He added the visit highlighted “the importance both of the Taiwan-U.S. relationship and Taiwan’s position”.

The visit comes after a US warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait, in what US military forces called a routine exercise.

However, Beijing denounced the passing through of the vessel as a “provocative” move.

Mr Wang said of the warship: “If [the] United States is trying to threaten and pressure China with this then we need to tell them that in the face of the Great Wall of steel forged by 1.4 billion Chinese people, any military deterrence is but scrap metal.

“The gimmick of having a U.S. warship sail through the Taiwan Strait should be left to those who foolishly believe in hegemony.”

Beijing has sent aircraft into Taiwanese defensive airspace on a near-daily basis for a number of months, sparking worries that China could copy Moscow in launching an incursion on the self-governing island.

A senior Western diplomat told The Daily Mail: “The overall sense is that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has precipitated seismic shift in geopolitics.”

“It doesn’t undermine Indo-Pacific efforts – it reinforces them.”

They added: “’We’ll see the US doubling down on relationships in and beyond the region.”

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