Is China prepares for Taiwan blitz?

CHINA is preparing for an all-out blitz of Taiwan, a former US Department of Defence official has warned.

Michael Beckley said Xi Jinping will have learned from Putin’s disastrous mistakes in Ukraine and will aim to “hit Taiwan hard from the start” and “sever them from the outside world”.

On Tuesday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also said China is “learning lessons” from Putin’s invasion and warned: “What is happening in Europe today could happen in East Asia tomorrow.”

China regards the self-governing island as part of its territory and has vowed to reunite it with the mainland – by force if necessary.

Tensions between the two nations have hit boiling point in recent months, with Beijing continuing to flex its military muscles by launching jets into Taiwan’s airspace and firing missiles in haunting drills.