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World Service,29 Oct 2022,49 mins

Taiwan: A flashpoint for China and the West?

Global Questions

Available for over a year

China鈥檚 claims that the 鈥榖reakaway鈥 island of Taiwan has always been part of its territory, has led some to believe that Beijing will be emboldened by Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine and will move to annex the island. With President Xi Jinping鈥檚 crackdown on freedoms and democracy in Hong Kong, the Taiwanese are becoming more nervous - particularly as President Putin proclaimed Russia is building a new "democratic world order" with China. But if China were to invade Taiwan how would the West respond 鈥 particularly the USA? America has traditionally been vague with its policy of 鈥榮trategic ambiguity鈥 but President Biden鈥檚 recent comments seemed to signal that the US was willing to defend Taiwan. As China continues to push ahead with the modernisation of its military could Taiwan be a flashpoint that will change international relations and the world order around the globe?

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