Taiwan calls reports of China considering invasion this autumn part of 'cognitive warfare'
Mar 25, 2022
Taipei [Taiwan], March 25 : Taiwan intelligence has dismissed the reports of a possibility of Beijing invading Taipei this autumn and termed it as a part of "cognitive warfare" targeting Taiwan, according to a media report.
The development comes after an alleged leaked document from Russian intelligence suggested that Chinese President Xi Jinping is considering invading Taiwan this autumn, reported Focus Taiwan.
Dismissing the reports as "highly unlikely", National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Chen Ming-tong said, "I believe this so-called leaked document is part of 'cognitive warfare' targeting Taiwan."
Chen's remarks came during Thursday's Legislative session to brief lawmakers on Taiwan's national security contingency amid the latest geopolitical situation in East Asia, according to the media outlet.
According to Chen, with Beijing scheduled to be holding the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP's) 20th National Party Congress this autumn, the CCP's main task is to maintain stability within its country. Thus, it is extremely unlikely that China would launch an invasion of Taiwan during that time, he added.
Notably, Chen's statement was made in response to lawmakers' question on an alleged leaked document made public by Russian dissident Vladimir Osechkin last week.
According to the letter which Osechkin said was from an intelligence officer in the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, Xi was "considering taking over Taiwan in the fall" of this year as "he needs his own little victory to get re-elected for a third term", reported Focus Taiwan.
However, Taiwan's foreign minister Joseph Wu had said last week that the authenticity of the document could not be confirmed, adding that the authorities were always ready to fend off the Chinese invasion.
During the legislative briefing, Chen also said that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was a wake-up call for the democratic world to be more alert to the threats posed by authoritarian countries like Russia and China.
Notably, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has raised apprehension in Taipei that China may try to follow suit and use force to annexe Taiwan.
According to reports, China has been sending military aircraft into the air defence identification zone of Taiwan on almost a daily basis. On the other hand, as ground reports from Taiwan reveal, the Russian assault on Ukraine is serving a wake-up call for Taiwan, reported The HK Post.
