While China might not launch an all-out invasion of Taiwan this year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could scale up attacks on Taiwan’s outlying islands, the Independent said on Tuesday. The UK-based newspaper cited the US Defense Intelligence Agency’s latest Worldwide Threat Assessment report, which was released earlier this month. China possesses a variety of military options to coerce Taiwan, including “seizure of Taiwan’s smaller outlying islands, joint firepower strikes, and a full-scale amphibious invasion of Taiwan,” the US Department of Defense agency said in the report. However, “China appears willing to defer seizing Taiwan by force as long as it calculates unification ultimately can be negotiated, the costs of forcing unification continue to outweigh the benefits, and its stated redlines have not been crossed by Taiwan or its partners and allies,” the report said. “China is likely to continue its campaign of diplomatic, information, military and economic pressure on Taiwan to advance its long-term objective of unification with Taiwan,” it said. Such strategies would also “deter any move by Taiwan toward independence, and test the United States’ commitment to Taiwan’s defense,” it said. Political observers have long warned that Kinmen and Matsu are the most vulnerable among Taiwan’s territories, the Independent said. While Taiwan and the US do not have diplomatic relations, Washington would be expected to respond to any Chinese attack against Taiwan and use Guam as a staging point for such operations, the article said.

Full report : China May Strike Taiwan’s Outlying Islands to Challenge US Resolve.