The Straits Times
Date: Sep 28, 2019
By: Goh Sui Noi, East Asia Editor

Tensions over Taiwan have resurfaced and intensified in the last couple of years and mark the beginnings of a major strategic crisis, an Australian academic has said.

This crisis could erupt suddenly, sparked by an inadvertent escalation, such as a collision of military ships or aircraft in the Taiwan Strait, Professor Brendan Taylor said yesterday at the launch of his book Dangerous Decade – Taiwan's Security And Crisis Management, published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

It could also build gradually over the coming months and years as Beijing and Washington descend deeper into a new Cold War, he said.

"Life in this region as we know it could change quite dramatically if this Taiwan crisis is not prudently managed. And it is especially so for trade-dependent nations such as Singapore and Australia," warned Prof Taylor, who teaches strategic studies at the Australian National University in Canberra.
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