'We obviously have some understanding,' he said. 'Frankly speaking, they have internally debated this before,' Chen said, referring to China but without elaborating or mentioning when such a discussion occurred. 'Attacking and capturing the Pratas Islands - this scenario where war is being used to force (Taiwan into) talks - our assessment is that this will not happen during President Tsai's tenure,' Chen told a parliamentary meeting.Ĭhen was responding to a question from a lawmaker in Taiwan's main opposition party, the Kuomintang, on whether China would attack before 2024, when Tsai's second term is set to end.

Lying roughly between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance - more than 400 km (250 miles) - from mainland Taiwan.Ĭhina has blamed Taiwan, and its most important international supporter the United States, for the simmering tensions across the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan, a self-ruled island claimed by Beijing, has complained for over a year of repeated sorties by China's air force, often in the southwestern part of its air defence zone near the Taiwan-controlled but lightly defended Pratas Islands. National Security Bureau Director-General Chen Ming-tong did not say how he knew that such a move had been debated or why it would not happen during the next few years.Ĭhina's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. TAIPEI (Reuters) - A top Taiwan security official told lawmakers on Thursday that China had internally debated whether to attack Taiwan's Pratas Islands but will not do so before 2024, the year President Tsai Ing-wen's term ends.

Jesy Nelson tests positive for Covid as she drops out of first live solo concert since Little MixįILE PHOTO: Chinese, Taiwanese flags and military airplanes displayed in this illustration

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