China can attack Taiwan with little warning after giving up on ‘peaceful unification’, says former US Defence official

China can attack Taiwan with little or no warning as the Xi-Jinping-led government has given up on “peaceful unification”, according to former US Defence official Elbridge Colby. The former Donald Trump defence official stressed that the attack could happen with little warning, reported ANI referring to Taiwan News.

Elbridge Colby served as the deputy assistant secretary of defence for strategy and force development from 2017 to 2018. If Donald Trump is elected president in the US Presidential elections in November, he is likely to handle the national security office.

He has also been named a possible candidate for a national security office if Donald Trump is elected president in the November presidential elections.

Shift support from Ukraine to Taiwan, advises Colby

As Chinese leader Xi Jinping has probably given up on ‘peaceful unification of Taiwan’, an attack could happen with little clear warning, Colby said in an interview with Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun, advising US to shift its support from Ukraine to Taiwan.

He also added that the military needed to be strengthened so that the nation could be ready to deliver any immediate response against Chinese aggression. An attack could happen with little clear warning, he added, according to Taiwan News.

He also hinted that the cross-strait war might involve the US, and US troops in the Asia Pacific, Japan, Australia, and the Philippines, as reported by Taiwan News.

In addition to advising the US to change its focus, Colby also said that Washington should not abandon Europe. However, he maintained his opinion that Europe is much more able to handle Russia on its own than Asia in case of Chinese aggression in the region.

Earlier this month, China's Minister of National Defence Admiral Dong Jun warned "external forces" for emboldening Taiwan Independence separatists in an attempt to contain China with Taiwan and said that these malicious intentions are dragging Taiwan into a dangerous situation."