Military tensions with China are at their peak in more than 40 years, Taiwan’s defense minister said after a record number of Chinese military planes flew through the island’s air defense zone in recent days, according to Reuters.
Tensions between Taipei and Beijing, which considers the island its territory, have escalated.
In the four days since last Friday, Taiwan has reported the flight of nearly 150 Chinese planes.
Speaking to lawmakers, Taiwan’s Defense Minister Chiu Kuo Chen said the situation was “the most serious” in more than 40 years of his service in the military.
He addressed a parliamentary committee discussing special military spending of $ 8.6 billion on domestically produced weapons, including missiles and warships.
China has said Taiwan can be taken by force if necessary, and Taipei has said it will defend its freedom and democracy.
According to Chiu, China already has the potential to invade Taiwan and will be ready for a full-scale invasion by 2025, according to BNR.
US President Joe Biden, meanwhile, said he had talked with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping about Taiwan and they had agreed to abide by the “Taiwan Agreement”.
Biden apparently referred to Washington’s long-standing policy of officially recognizing Beijing, not Taipei, and the Taiwan Relations Act, which clearly states that the U.S. decision to have diplomatic relations with Beijing rather than Taiwan was made by for the expectation that the future of the island will be decided peacefully.
Following Biden’s comments, Taiwan was informed that US policy toward him had not changed.