Taipei, April 19 (CNA) China might take advantage of the power vacuum in the region following the halt of overseas movements by the United States military, but a military offensive against Taiwan is unlikely, according to a Taiwanese defense analyst.
“The U.S. military deployed in the western Pacific has been a force that secures the safety of the region. Whether China sees the halt of U.S. military movement as an opportunity to take, is a national security issue worth watching,” said Chang Jung-Ming, a National Defense and Security Research researcher.According to foreign media reports, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper ordered in March a ban on troop movements overseas for 60 days, in an effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus in the military.
Currently, four U.S. aircraft carriers assigned in the Indo-Pacific region are all quarantined at different ports, and war games such as Balikatan 2020 held by the U.S. and the Philippines and the Large Scale Exercise 2020 were also postponed.
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