TAIWAN
Spanningen in Straat van Taiwan lopen op na bezoek Pelosi
August 3, 2022 - China spends more than any country except the U.S. on defence and could draw on a huge range of capabilities, including naval power, missiles and aircraft, in any military confrontation with Taiwan.
China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province that will eventually be under Beijing’s control again. However, Taiwan sees itself as an independent country, with its own constitution and democratically-elected leaders, according to the BBC.
China’s President Xi Jinping has said “reunification” with Taiwan “must be fulfilled” – and has not ruled out the possible use of force to achieve this.
If China was to take over Taiwan, some western experts suggest it could be freer to project power in the western Pacific region and could possibly even threaten U.S. military bases as far away as Guam and Hawaii, the BBC said.