The odds of war with China in the next year are "very low," a top Taiwanese security official told lawmakers Wednesday, amid heightened tensions between Taipei and Beijing, which claims sovereignty over the island.
Taiwan has repeatedly said that it will defend itself if attacked, but wants to maintain the status quo with China even as it complains of repeated sorties by the Chinese air force in its air defense identification zone (ADIZ).
"I think generally, within one year, the probability of war is very low," National Security Bureau Director-General Chen Ming-tong told a parliamentary defense committee meeting. "But there are many things you still have to pay attention to, called contingent events."