[Epoch Times January 23, 2022](Epoch Times reporter Li Yan comprehensive report) Former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien warned on Friday (January 21) that the United States‘ adversaries The actions of Biden and President Putin in the Ukraine-Russia conflict are being closely watched. If the CCP deems it worthwhile to attack Taiwan, there could be consequences that could further threaten U.S. territory.
Biden drew widespread criticism this week for his suggestion that a “small-scale invasion” of Ukraine could provoke a lighter response. O’Brien told Fox News on Friday that Chinese leader Xi Jinping is closely watching where the current conflict is going. He analyzed that the Ukrainian-Russian conflict involves two points.
“Our main national security interest in Europe is to ensure that NATO is defended, so we don’t want Russia to run amuck on non-NATO friends and put more pressure on our NATO allies. That’s one of them,” O’Brien said.
President Biden on Thursday clarified his “minor intrusion” claim at a news conference the day before, which sparked protests in Kiev.
“I’ve made it very clear to President Putin. He has no misunderstandings. If any — any — massed Russian forces cross the Ukrainian border, that’s an invasion,” Biden said on Thursday in a meeting aimed at promoting last year’s passage said at the event of the party infrastructure programme.
He stressed that if Putin chooses to invade Ukraine, “Russia will pay a heavy price”.
At the same time, O’Brien said, “China is watching this very carefully. Xi Jinping is watching Vladimir Putin’s every move, weighing — he’s considering whether to post the Olympics or not. The issue of attacking Taiwan.”
If Xi concludes that it is worth attacking Taiwan even if it causes international unrest, that could open a sea lane for it — challenging the U.S. state of Alaska, the closest state to China and Russia, the former national security adviser said.
He pointed out that Taiwan has a lot of national security and diplomatic interests of the United States. If Taiwan is controlled by the CCP, the Chinese military may appear at the western gate of the United States in a short period of time.
“(Taiwan) is the cork in the Pacific,” O’Brien said. If Taiwan fell, Chinese troops “would flow into the Pacific, threatening Hawaii, threatening California (or) Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.”
At Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, the U.S. military has a large strategic facility focused on protecting U.S. interests in the Asia-Pacific; and 300 miles north, At Fort Greely in Fairbanks, the U.S. military deployed as many as 40 anti-ballistic missiles to protect the West Coast from attack.
O’Brien told Fox News that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan could also sever the U.S.-Japan alliance, as well as the U.S. allies with New Zealand, Australia and the Philippines.
“Therefore, we need to make sure that some nation-states think they can invade and conquer their neighbors, but this is not the new normal in international relations. Because it will have consequences far beyond Ukraine,” he concluded.
According to Ukrainian Defense Ministry intelligence assessments shared by CNN, Russia has assembled more than 127,000 troops in the border area.
The U.S. embassy in Ukraine announced Saturday that it would provide $200 million in “security assistance” to the Ukrainian military, some of which arrived in Ukraine early that morning.
Responsible editor: Lin Yan#