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Taiwan doubts Chinese military can land on island before 2027

The head of Taiwan's National Security Council added that Taiwanese authorities now see no signs of Beijing's preparations for a military operation, and the possible timing of its launch remains unknown

NEW YORK, November 14. /TASS/. A senior Taiwanese military official believes that Beijing is unlikely to try to regain control over the island before 2027.

"I don’t think it will happen in the near future or at least within one to two years. If China needs to carry out amphibious landing operations to take Taiwan, I don’t think it will have such capabilities by 2027," Bloomberg quoted Head of Taiwan's National Security Council Wellington Koo as saying at a briefing.

He added that Taiwanese authorities now see no signs of Beijing's preparations for a military operation, and the possible timing of its launch remains unknown. Koo pointed out that the main factors allegedly slowing down the implementation of China's plans are economic difficulties, as well as worsening conflicts in Europe and the Middle East. The island will continue to strengthen its defense capabilities, the official added.

The news agency pointed out the US has postponed the date of sending HIMARS multiple rocket launchers to Taiwan: according to current plans, they will arrive on the island in 2026. Bloomberg also recalled that earlier this month Koo attributed such delays to an increase in US military aid deliveries to Ukraine.

Taiwan has been governed by its own administration since 1949, when the remnants of the Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled there after their defeat in the Chinese Civil War. Since then, Taiwan has retained the flag and some other attributes of the former Republic of China that existed on the mainland before the Communists took power. Official Beijing considers Taiwan a province of the People’s Republic of China.

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