"The US on Saturday revealed the details of a surprise raid to capture Venezuela's leader, Nicolas Maduro, who was whisked away to the US, where he was frogmarched into a court in New York on Monday. Commentators in China immediately drew comparisons to how an assault on Taiwan could play out. China, a country with more than 1.4 billion people and the world's biggest armed forces, has long had designs on Taiwan, a self-governing island of 23 million in its back yard."
"Firstly, although China cares about international narratives with regards to Taiwan, and puts great pressure on other countries to recognise Beijing's claims on the island, it does not see the matter as being one of international laws. Beijing views Taiwan as part of its territory and therefore a domestic political matter. Beijing has not refrained from kinetic or other actions on Taiwan out of deference to international law and norms."
A surprise US operation to capture Venezuela's leader prompted comparisons to a potential assault on Taiwan. China has more than 1.4 billion people and the world's largest armed forces and maintains long-standing claims on Taiwan, a self-governing island of 23 million. The power imbalance between China and Taiwan resembles that between the US and Venezuela, with smaller parties relying on friendly states for defence. Beijing treats Taiwan as part of its territory and a domestic political matter, exerts diplomatic pressure on other countries to recognise its claims, and pursues coercion without relying on international-law constraints.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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