Fearing war in Xi’s next term, Taiwan bolsters defences

Taiwan is bolstering its defences and steeling itself for the possibility of war with China as leader Xi Jinping readies to assume a third term in power and tries to achieve what no predecessor has done by taking control of the island.
Xi has made no secret of his desire to make democratically ruled Taiwan a part of the People’s Republic of China – peacefully if possible but with force if needed – to cement his legacy in the history books.
China’s war games near Taiwan in August pushed tensions to their highest in decades, reigniting fears of conflict that have loomed ever since the defeated Republic of China government fled to the island in 1949 after loosing a civil war to Mao Zedong’s communists.
President Tsai Ing-wen in her national day speech on Monday said war was “absolutely not an option”, which a source familiar with her thinking said was aimed partly at China’s ruling Communist Party congress, which opens on Sunday.
She also outlined steps to boost the military including with mass production of precision missiles and warships.