It comes as the US warned that China is rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal and could have more than 1000 warheads by 2030. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said China was unlikely to try to militarily seize Taiwan in the next couple of years, even as its military develops capabilities that would enable forcibly retaking the island. In Washington on Wednesday, General Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S. 'In the next one, two, three years, within President Tsai's tenure, it won't happen,' he said. Taiwan has repeatedly said it wants to maintain the status quo with China, but vows to defend its freedom and democracy.ДЄ top Taiwan security official has claimed that China has internally debated whether to attack Taiwan's Pratas Islands after 2024, the year President Tsai Ing-wen's (pictured) term endsД¬hen told lawmakers that while the situation is more tense than in the past, it had not reached the point of an actual attack on Taiwan.

One scenario Taiwan authorities fear is that China could capture the Pratas Islands in a drastic escalation of tensions that could lead to a war, officials have said previously. Taiwan's presidential office referred questions on the matter to the National Security Bureau, which did not immediately comment out of office hours. 'We obviously have some understanding,' he said. 'Frankly speaking, they have internally debated this before,' Chen said, referring to China but without elaborating or mentioning when such a discussion occurred. 'Attacking and capturing the Pratas Islands - this scenario where war is being used to force (Taiwan into) talks - our assessment is that this will not happen during President Tsai's tenure,' Chen told a parliamentary meeting.Д¬hen was responding to a question from a lawmaker in Taiwan's main opposition party, the Kuomintang, on whether China would attack before 2024, when Tsai's second term is set to end. Pictured: People in Taipei on SundayД¬hina has blamed Taiwan, and its most important international supporter the United States, for the simmering tensions across the Taiwan Strait. The island of 24 million people has since transformed into a vibrant democracy and major tech hub, leading many - including President Tsai Ing-wen - to assert Taiwan's distinct identity, which Beijing attacks as separatism. Lying roughly between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance - more than 250 miles - from mainland Taiwan. Taiwan has complained for over a year of repeated sorties by China's air force, often in the southwestern part of its air defence zone near the Taiwan-controlled but lightly defended Pratas Islands. Self-governed Taiwan's people live under the constant threat of invasion by authoritarian China, which views the island as its territory and has vowed to one day seize it, by force if necessary. He did not say how he knew that such a move had been debated or why it would not happen during the next few years.Д¬hina's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. On Thursday, Taiwan's National Security Bureau Director-General Chen Ming-tong claimedВ China has internally debated whether to attack Taiwan's Pratas Islands after 2024, the year President Tsai Ing-wen's term ends. The comments came a day after the head of a visiting European Parliament delegation to Taipei called Taiwan's democracy 'a treasure' to be protected, promising to stand with the island.Д¬hina has dramatically ramped up military activities in recent years, with a record number of planes intruding into the island's air defence identification zone (ADIZ) in early October.

Zhu Fenglian, the head of the Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing (pictured in 2019)В warned that 'the mainland will pursue criminal responsibility for Taiwan independence diehards in accordance with the law, to be effective for life'

Left 4 dead 2 no mercy