U.S. intelligence officials say that China and Russia are working together on issues including a potential invasion of Taiwan. In testimony to Congress, top officials said China and Russia were conducting joint exercises for the first time. This alliance is prompting the U.S. to revise its defense strategy, officials said. Let’s hear from them.

Avril Haines
US director of national intelligence
We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t. …Given its ambitions, Beijing will continue to use its military forces to intimidate its neighbors and to shape the region’s actions in accordance with the PRC’s priorities, mostly obviously in relation to Taiwan as the PRC pushes for unification.

Mike Rounds
Republic senator
The planning that we have to do includes confrontation and not just one front now, but the capabilities, the planning, the equipment, the manpower that would be necessary for two different fronts simultaneously.

Jeffrey Kruse
Director of US Defense Intelligence Agency
Even if Russia and China as a military force are not interoperable, they would certainly be cooperative. And we would need to take that into account in force structure and planning.

In related news, tensions in the South China Sea have flared up again. The Chinese Coast Guard confronted two Philippine vessels this week, battering them with water cannons. The two Philippine ships were on their way to deliver supplies to fishermen in the South China Sea. China’s attack came as Manila and Washington carried out their annual joint military drills called "Balikatan." For the first time, the exercises include a naval operation in the disputed South China Sea.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53
#台灣新聞 #TaiwanNews #民視新聞 #FTV新聞 #Taiwan