Taiwan watching Ukraine crisis
Taiwan says that the situation with China is "fundamentally different" from what was happening in Ukraine.
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A Taiwanese fighter jet over the Taiwan Strait
The Taiwanese government said on Saturday that it is closely watching the situation in the strait that separates it from China and raising its preparedness in response to what is happening with Ukraine, stressing that the two cases were very different.
China has increased military patrols near Taiwan over the past few years, however, Taiwan has reported no extraordinary exercises by Chinese soldiers in recent days as tensions over Ukraine have risen.
As Western nations wage fierce military and information campaigns against Russia, Taiwan's presidential office said the military continues to reinforce its surveillance operations, claiming that regional peace and stability is "the shared responsibility of all parties".
"All military units continue to pay close attention to the situation in Ukraine and movements in the Taiwan Strait, continue to strengthen joint intelligence and surveillance, and gradually increase the level of combat readiness in response to various signs and threats to effectively respond to various situations," it added.
The presidential office went on to clarify that the situation in the Taiwan Strait was "fundamentally different" from what was happening in Ukraine and that people should not be misled by what he labeled as "false information."
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Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu told Indian television channel CNN-News18 on Friday that the island was being watched closely to see whether China would take advantage of the West's distraction over Ukraine to attack the island.
However, he said, China may not want any "big events" to distract attention from the Winter Olympics, which it is hosting.
Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan's president, established a Ukraine working group under the National Security Council last month to monitor developments and their potential implications on Taiwan's security.
