As Russia¡¯s invasion of Ukraine drags on into its fourth week, Moscow¡¯s failure to subdue Ukrainian defenses ¡ª despite its superior military ¡ª has raised questions about what this could mean for China and the People¡¯s Liberation Army (PLA) in terms of a potential invasion of democratic Taiwan.
Beijing, which regards self-ruled Taiwan as a breakaway province, has repeatedly vowed to reunite the island with the mainland. While Chinese President Xi Jinping would prefer to take control of the island without a fight, he has not ruled out the use of force.
In a speech in June 2021, Xi declared re-unification a ¡°historic mission¡± of the Chinese Communist Party and warned that China would take ¡°resolute action to utterly defeat any attempt¡± toward Taiwanese independence.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.