• Unlike other flashpoints, Chinese authorities will show no flexibility and could invade if it declares independence
• The People’s Liberation Army has spent years training to retake the island, and are prepared for US intervention

South China Morning Post
Date: 22 Jul, 2020
By: Minnie Chan

This is the third in a four-part series examining the growing tensions between China and the United States and how the situation could escalate into a full-blown military conflict.  Read.  part one  and part two.

Taiwan looms large as one of the most obvious flashpoints for an armed conflict between China and the United States. Beijing has made clear it regards the island as an integral part of China and any attempt to change its status is a red line.

Unlike other areas of territorial contention, such as in the South China Sea, analysts say Beijing will show no flexibility on this issue and has not ruled out force to reunify Taiwan with the mainland.

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China has been preparing for its “reunification mission” ever since Chiang Kai-shek’s defeated Nationalist forces fled to the island at the end of the civil war in 1949. The military is well aware that an invasion could prompt US intervention.

“The PLA is very clear that once a war with Taiwan breaks out, their opponent will not just be the Taiwanese military, but the US-Japan alliance and other allies in the region,” said Zhou Chenming, a researcher from the Yuan Wang, a Beijing-based military science and technology institute.    [FULL  STORY]