Amid the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict, former US State Secretary Mike Pompeo has said possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan will depend on island defense preparedness and the willingness of the West to show Beijing it would pay a high price any such action.
Pompeo made these remarks during his 4-day visit to Taiwan during which he suggested that the US government should recognize Taiwan as a "free and sovereign country" immediately, Taiwan Focus reported.
During a speech in Taipei last Friday, Pompeo said, "It is my view that the United States Government should immediately take necessary and long overdue steps to do the right and obvious thing. That is to offer the Republic of China (Taiwan) America's diplomatic recognition as a free and sovereign country."
Pompeo, who served as his country's top diplomat during the Trump administration, said the ongoing Russian "invasion" of Ukraine can serve as a lesson for freedom-loving countries in dealing with cross-Strait tensions.
Amid comparison of the Russian-Ukraine tensions to those between China and Taiwan, Pompeo said there were certainly some similar risks.
He said in both cases, they are "authoritarian regimes with great power, who desire to use aggressive military force to bully around smaller nations."
However, the former US official went on to argue that Taiwan presents a democracy that has great friends around the world and in the region.
"I'm convinced that if we all do the right thing, the United States, Taiwan, every country in Southeast Asia, Pacific island nations, Australia, Japan, South Korea, if we all work together to build out a consistent understanding that we're going to draw the line, we're going to be prepared to fight for the things that matter most to us, that we can continue to keep military deterrence in place," he said.
Amid China's growing military aggression towards Taiwan, three US senators earlier this week proposed a bill that would allow for the imposition of financial sanctions against China in the event of an attack or invasion of the island.
This bill comes at a time when the experts fear that China too might flex muscles over Taiwan and the South China Sea, after taking cues from Russia's military operation in Ukraine
China continues to regard Taiwan as a breakaway province despite seven decades of separate governance.
Beijing has not ruled out military force to take Taiwan and has kept the pressure on the democratic island with frequent warplane flights into Taiwan's air defense identification zone.
( With inputs from ANI )
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