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Bangkok Post
Bangkok Post
World

Singapore ex-diplomat warns to not underestimate China on Taiwan

In this file photo taken on Aug 4, 2022, Chinese military helicopters fly past Pingtan island, one of mainland China's closest point from Taiwan, in Fujian province ahead of massive military drills off Taiwan following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the self-ruled island. (AFP)

Singapore’s former top diplomat warned on Monday that a conflict in Taiwan would trigger a Chinese response akin to the US reaction to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor that precipitated its entrance into World War II.

Former Foreign Minister George Yeo told Bloomberg Television, without naming anyone, that “people” don’t understand just how deep an issue Taiwan is for China and underestimate the severity of a conflict if one were to come. Already fraught ties between the US and China have continued to deteriorate since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visited the self-governing island last month amid concerns a miscalculation could lead to conflict. 

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