Taiwan Warns China Blockade Will Be Act Of War

A senior Taiwanese security official has said a Chinese blockade of Taiwan or the seizure of an offshore island would be considered an act of war and that it would not surrender.

The tension between China, which views Taiwan as its own territory, and Taiwan has spiked since U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island in early August.

To show its anger, China mounted military exercises around Taiwan that included firing missiles and steps to mount a blockade.

China has since then continued its military activities, though on a smaller scale.

The senior Taiwanese security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said China's drills after the Pelosi visit had shown what might happen in case the worst came to the worst and focused thought on how Taiwan would react.

"A blockade is an act of war; seizing an offshore island is an act of war," the official said, adding Taiwan believed China was unlikely to take either of those actions at the moment.

The official said countries other than the United States, which sails warships through the Taiwan Strait about once a month, should show China that an attack on Taiwan would not go unanswered.