Taiwan warned against ‘wishful thinking’ that US will come to rescue if China attacks

Su Chi, former secretary general of the island’s National Security Council, says government should not delude itself over America’s ability or willingness to stop a PLA invasion

Su says proposed Taiwan Defence Act should not create false hopes because it raises the prospect that the US is no longer able to react effectively

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Two Chinese H-6 strategic bombers entered Taiwan’s air defence identification zone on Sunday. Photo: Handout

Published: 7:00am, 30 Jun 2020Updated: 7:24am, 30 Jun 2020

China’s increasing belligerence towards Taiwan has raised questions about whether the US would really come to the island’s aid if it was attacked, with one former senior security official warning against “wishful thinking”.

In the latest incident, two PLA Xian H-6 bombers briefly approached Taiwan’s air defence identification zone from the east on Sunday after flying from the East China Sea through the Miyako Strait between the Japanese islands of Okinawa and Miyakojima, according to the defence ministry in Tokyo.

It was the 10th such incursion by the PLA warplanes in the past month and the 16th this year and observers said it was intended both to practise for any future attacks and send a warning to the US against supporting the island.

In response to the recent PLA incursions, the US has also sent a flurry of warplanes, mostly reconnaissance aircraft through Taiwan’s airspace, including six on Monday.

The SCS Probing initiative, a Peking University think tank, said the US operations were probably intended to monitor Chinese military activity in the Bashi Channel and South China Sea.

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