Newsweek
Date: 12/1/20
By: John Feng

Taiwan's foreign minister called on Australia to help safeguard peace and defend against Chinese aggression as relations between Canberra and Beijing hit a new low this week.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu told Stan Grant of Australia's ABC News program The World that the risk of a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait was "much higher than before," but noted that Taipei was not expecting Prime Minister Scott Morrison or any other international partner to send troops to the region.

Chinese military aircraft and vessel activity in the 100-mile stretch of water between Taiwan and mainland China has increased at an alarming rate in recent months, with President Tsai Ing-wen's top diplomat saying the government was now "very concerned" about a Chinese invasion to reunify the island by force.

During the interview on Tuesday, Wu said the self-ruled democratic island, which Beijing claims as a rogue province, was "feeling the heat" of intensifying Chinese military activity around Taiwan, which also included two large-scale landing drills conducted by the People's Liberation Army Navy in November.    [FULL  STORY]