Colby said the military needs to be strengthened so it can respond quickly to any Chinese aggression.
 "Former Trump official Colby warns of China's surprise attack on Taiwan")
Elbridge Colby, a former senior US Defense Department official, stressed that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could happen with little to no warning. ANI Asia
Elbridge Colby, a former senior U.S. Defense Department official, stressed that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could come with little warning because China has abandoned “peaceful unification,” Taiwan News reported.
Elbridge Colby, a senior official in the administration of former President Donald Trump, served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development from 2017 to 2018.
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He has also been named as a possible candidate for the National Security Agency if Donald Trump is elected president in November's presidential election.
Speaking in an interview with Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun in Washington DC, Colby said the military needs to be strengthened to be able to respond immediately to any Chinese aggression.
Attacks could happen with little to no clear warning, he added, according to Taiwan News.
A former Pentagon official said Chinese leader Xi Jinping has likely concluded that peaceful unification of Taiwan and China is impossible.
According to a Taiwan News report, Colby said a cross-strait war could involve the United States and its forces in the Asia-Pacific region, Japan, Australia and the Philippines.
But critics have said it may be difficult for China to launch a surprise attack on Taiwan, noting that such an action would require extensive preparations.
Colby advised that with Asia now the “main battlefield,” the U.S. should shift its support from Ukraine to Taiwan.
He added that while Washington should not abandon Europe, he believes Europe can deal with Russia on its own, rather than Asia taking on China.
Earlier this month, China's Defense Minister Tung Jun warned against “external forces” trying to contain China and embolden Taiwanese independence activists, saying their malicious intentions were dragging the island into a dangerous situation.
He said anyone who tried to separate Taiwan from China would “be self-destructing.”
China's defense minister said some external forces have “hollowed out” the “One China” principle and continue to sell weapons to Taiwan. He said external forces are “doing this to Taiwanese independence activists in order to contain China within Taiwan,” and stressed that such intentions are dragging Taiwan into a dangerous situation.
Days after Lai took office, China launched a two-day military drill to encircle Taiwan as “punishment” for so-called “acts of separatism,” CNN reported.
China conducted the drills because, in Lai's inaugural speech, he called on Beijing to stop intimidating the island nation, over which China continues to claim sovereignty.
