In tandem with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s increasingly defiant statements about independence from China, saber-rattling and discussions of a possible military option have also grown. Chang Yan-ting, a former deputy commander of the Taiwanese air force, told CNN: “We cannot control whether or not the Chinese Communist Party has the ability to attack Taiwan, but we are able to control and make sure it does not have the motivation to do so. We need to be able to defend against the first wave of attacks — whether it is for half a month, one month, or two months, then we can wait for assistance from the international world.”
Various Chinese media and commentators continue to remind Taiwan and its erstwhile allies that, in the post-Afghanistan world, the “wait for international assistance” could be very, very long indeed, and most likely would never arrive.
