War to Unify Taiwan in One Year? China May Not Be Ready: China Experts
An expert said mainland Chinese military leaders told her that they would be ready to unify Taiwan by force in one year, while another China expert told The Epoch Times that Chinese leader Xi Jinping would be too busy maintaining his position as party boss over the next 20 months.
Oriana Skylar Mastro, center fellow at Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University, told the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (pdf) on Feb. 18, “China can afford to wait until later in Xi’s tenure to make its move [of unification of Taiwan].” Xi’s current term will end in November 2022.
On Wednesday last week, the Presidential Office confirmed that the word “Taiwan” would be added to the hulls of Coast Guard Administration vessels.
This follows President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) request, made during a launch ceremony on Dec. 11 last year for a new patrol vessel, the <i>Anping</i> (安平), that they “should be more clearly identifiable to the international community when carrying out law enforcement duties.”
Some opposition lawmakers have questioned the move, claiming that confusion over Taiwan and China’s respective coast guards is unheard of.
However, as a former navy captain, with experience investigating suspicious vessels, and expelling Chinese intelligence ships
Coast Guard | Center for International Maritime Security cimsec.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cimsec.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
updated: Feb 22 2021, 03:01 ist
India on Sunday signed an agreement with the Maldives to “develop, support and maintain” a harbour at Uthuru Thila Falhu naval base in the island nation.
Though the new harbour is being built officially for the use of Maldives National Defence Force Coast Guard, it is likely to turn into a strategic asset for India and give it an edge over China, which has been trying to spread its tentacles in the Indian Ocean region.
The agreement was signed as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had a meeting with Maldivian Defence Minister Mariya Didi before concluding his two-day visit to Malé on. The Government of Maldives and the EXIM Bank India also signed another agreement for $50 million Line of Credit for defence projects in the archipelago.