Rudd fears China may move to seize Taiwan in 2028: Australian Financial Review
Former prime minister Kevin Rudd fears Chinese President Xi Jinping may underestimate US resolve to defend Taiwan and move to take the strategic Pacific island democracy by force as early as 2028.
Speaking to the Ezra Klein podcast in his new role as chief executive of leading foreign policy think tank Asia Society, Rudd described a dangerous window in two years’ time if an overconfident Xi, 73, viewed the confluence of presidential elections in the United States and Taiwan as a “unique opportunity”.
Xi’s policy towards Taiwan – which the Chinese Communist Party claims as its own territory even though it has never ruled there – had become “increasingly hard and sharp”, said Rudd, referring to Xi’s recent remarks about a precarious situation that could result in collision and conflict.