A CHILLING map reveals the potential hotspots where a global conflict could erupt as it's feared a war between the US and China would be the "most devastating" in history.

Taiwan's foreign ministry warned that relations between the offshore island and mainland China have hit a 40-year low and fears are mounting that Beijing could launch an invasion.

Beijing has often perceived Taiwan as a "renegade" state and has repeatedly vowed to take it back by force if necessary.

Washington has pursued a strategy of “strategic ambiguity” – where it has persuaded pro-separatist Taiwanese forces not to declare independence while deterring Beijing not to seize the island by force.

It’s thought that the formal declaration of independence would be the likely trigger for a potential conflict.

Wargames from Beijing have escalated as it's reported that more than 100 fighter jets entered Taiwanese airspace in just three days.

Taiwanese defense minister Chiu Kuo-cheng warned that Beijing will be capable of mounting a full-scale attack within years.

He feared that by “2025 China will bring the cost and attrition to its lowest”.

Sam Armstrong, of the Henry Jackson Society, said that relations between Washington and Beijing have never been worse.

He told The Sun: “China continues to act in a manner that threatens and jeopardizes western security, the values of freedom, and international rule of law.”

He added that Taiwan is the "ultimate emblem" of the new “Cold War” that has formed involving Beijing and the West.

Armstrong said that China has imperialistic ambitions while the US believes in a country’s right to self-determination and democratic principles.

Beijing would likely prioritize the Pratas Island first if a future conflict were to materialize, according to the expert.

Armstrong speculated that the Chinese government would first try to deny that troops had invaded Taiwan.

Beijing would then vow to defend the island by whatever means necessary, according to the expert.

'JEOPARDIZING SECURITY'

Armstrong said: “A future conflict between China and the United States would be the most devastating conflict that we would ever see.”

He called on Joe Biden to be robust with Beijing as he called for the US to "end its dependency" on Chinese imports.

Armstrong said: “Standing up against China is the only way that we can avert a bloody, dangerous and devastating conflict the likes of which humanity has never seen in its history.”

The rising tensions in Taiwan come just months after the US' "chaotic" withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Biden was criticized by both Democrats and Republicans for hastily evacuating US troops as Taliban insurgents stormed through the country and seized Kabul.

'HASTY RETREAT'

Senator Marsha Blackburn, of Tennessee, was among GOP lawmakers calling for Biden to resign.

She said: “Biden’s recklessness resulted in the deaths of 13 US service members and abandonment of countless citizens and allies.

“Biden can’t avoid the consequences of his actions. He must resign.”

Ohio congressman Bob Gibbs said: “He’s (Biden) done so much damage to this country in the less than nine months, which is really scary.”

Trevor Coult, a retired British Special Operations Staff Sgt, branded Biden a “danger to the West”.

He claimed: “He has befriended terrorists. The White House is not a friend to the West. It’s a danger while he is president. We believe Biden is more of a threat to the West than the Taliban ever was. Without a shadow of a doubt. He has betrayed us.”

Armstrong said that the crisis in Afghanistan emboldened the US’ adversaries such as China.

ENEMIES EMBOLDENED

He said: “There’s no doubt that China was rubbing its hand with glee at the hands of the US’ disastrous exit from Afghanistan.

"It used that as a moment to send a message to the world that US assurances of security – the most of important of which are towards Taiwan – are not worth the paper they are written on."

Ever since 1948, North Korea has framed itself in opposition to Washington and is intent on driving wedges between Joe Biden and his allies.

There have been flashpoints of escalating conflict particularly during the 1990s and when the rhetoric between Kim-Jong Un and Donald Trump escalated.

Edward Howell, an expert on US-North Korean relations at Oxford University, said the DPRK remains a threat to US security as the country tries to create tensions between Washington and its allies.

He said Pyongyang appears to show "very little intention" of abandoning its nuclear program, warning the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula appears "extremely unrealistic and unlikely".

North Korea appears to have joined China and Russia in an arms race to develop hypersonic weapons.

Despot Kim Jong-un continues to stoke World War 3 fears as the hermit regime said that it had launched a missile named the Hwasong-8.

The state’s news agency said the development of such weapons increases Pyongyang’s defense capabilities a “thousand-fold”.

Last month, Pyongyang fired what appeared to be a ballistic missile, which flew towards the Korean peninsula.

The alleged missile test was the first test to happen in the last six months, AP reports.

Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, of Middlebury Institute of Strategic Studies, once said: "We're going to have to live with North Korea's ability to target the United States with nuclear weapons."

DETERIORATING RELATIONS

Prof. Stephen Zunes, of the University of San Francisco, told Al-Jazeera that the conflict in Iraq between Iranian and American forces “intensified” after  Trump’s decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal in 2018.

And, Joe Biden has shown he's not reluctant to launch drone strikes when it comes to protecting the safety of US troops.

The president ordered strikes on two targets in Syria and one in Iraq in June.

Pilots targeted their drone facilities that were used to attack US troops in Iraq.

The sites were used by the militia groups including Kata’ib Hezbollah and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, according to Pentagon press secretary John Kirby.

The airstrikes were blasted by Iraq's Ministry of Defense as officials accused Washington of an "unacceptable violation" of Iraqi sovereignty.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh said Washington was taking the wrong path.

Tensions between the US and Iran have slowly deteriorated since the late 1970s and the death of top general Qasem Soleimani potentially pushed the countries to the brink of war.

Iran was incorporated into George W Bush’s “Axis of Evil” in 2002.

Tehran announced that it would be stepping out of the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

Donald Trump pulled the US out of the deal in July 2018 branding it "horrible" and "one-sided".

Soleimani was killed in a targeted attack – ordered by Trump after Iranian-backed militias had fired rockets at US targets – outside Baghdad's airport in January 2020.

TENSE RELATIONS WITH TURKEY

The Biden Administration inherited a deteriorating set of relations with Turkey.

President Erdogan described relations with the White House as "more tense" than they had been under the three previous Administrations.

Biden is sympathetic to the Kurds in Syria which Ankara views as a “terrorist organization”.

It marks a continuation of Barack Obama’s approach who supported the Kurdish population in the fight against ISIS.

Max Hoffman, of The Center for American Progress, said: “Syria remains the bloodiest and intractable conflict of the past decade and a major source of U.S.-Turkish tension.”

Biden irritated Erdogan more when he recognized the massacres of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in 1915 as “genocide”.

The Turkish president branded the labeling “baseless, unjust and harmful to ties”.

And in May, Erdogan accused Biden of “writing history with bloody hands” after Washington approved weapon sales to Israel during its conflict with Hamas.

Differences between Washington and Ankara remain but Nicholas Danforth, of the Brookings Institute, said: “Rather than appear over-eager to improve relations Washington should simply leave the ball in Ankara’s court.

“This means staying the course while minimizing Turkey’s ability to disrupt U.S. and European interests.”

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