Taiwan sees Maduro arrest as deterrentNOT AN OPENING: Trump’s violation of international law does not affect China’s consideration in attacking Taiwan; Beijing lacks capability, not precedent, an official saidBloombergTaiwanese officials see the US’ capture of the president of Venezuela as a powerful deterrent to Beijing’s aggression and a timely reminder of the US’ ability to defeat militaries equipped with Chinese-made weapons. A person holds a newspaper with an image of ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Doral, Florida, on Sunday. China considers Taiwan part of its own territory, so international laws do not factor into its calculations, the person said. “The level of sophistication of US equipment, compared with the weapons Venezuela obtained from Russia and China, was fully exposed in this operation,” Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told lawmakers at the Legislative Yuan yesterday. That Venezuela’s military power was dismantled within hours by US forces would give Beijing plenty to think about, a separate senior national security official in Taiwan said.
