Ankur Desai

Taiwan if it wanted to, unless the US got involved with Japan and others, but just so they didn't.

Militarily, they could.

The problem is what the Taiwanese government is factoring in is the cost of doing that.

So it's no cakewalk.

You've got to get across the Taiwan Strait with landing craft, and they're practising that as we speak.

But, you know, death, destruction all round.

China's reputation would be in the toilet.

China would have international sanctions on it.

I mean, not to mention the fact that the Chinese government has to explain to its own people why we're...

killing our brothers and sisters from that rogue province in order to get them to join the family again.

That's a bit of a hard sell if there are all these dead people on the beaches, not to mention all the dead soldiers from the PLA.

It would be an awful thing for it to happen.

And so this is what the Taiwanese government's trying to do.

They're not thinking we can beat the PLA.

They're just thinking we can have such a solid defence that the cost will be so high

that the Chinese government won't go ahead and do it because it just wouldn't be worth it.

Well, Donald Trump didn't seem to care at all.

He was asked about this.

He said, oh, I'm not so worried.

I've seen these exercises before and was totally downplaying it.