A top Taiwan security official has told lawmakers that China had internally debated whether to attack Taiwan's Pratas Islands but will not do so before 2024, the year President Tsai Ing-wen's term ends.
National Security Bureau Director-General Chen Ming-tong did not say Thursday how he knew that such a move had been debated or why it would not happen during the next few years.
China's Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.