But some in Washington believe Taiwan must step up a gear given the prediction of its own defence minister that China could be capable of a full-scale invasion by 2025. 

“This year is likely to see the Chinese Communist Party continue undermining regional security, elevating its campaign of coercion and raising the stakes against Taiwan,” said Ian Easton, a China affairs analyst with the Project 2049 Institute and author of “The Chinese Invasion Threat”.

“Taiwan’s military faces the challenge of improving much-needed training and readiness efforts, while simultaneously dealing with the PLA’s day-to-day air and naval incursions, cyber-attacks, and political warfare.”

The US, too, needs to raise its “real-world support for Taiwan’s military,” to push back on the CCP’s provocations and avoid tensions worsening, he said. 

At the Chiayi Air Force base in southwest Taiwan, F-16V flight crews are already scrambling on a frequent basis to intercept the recent spike of Chinese warplanes, including nuclear bombers, that have entered the island’s Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) – the buffer zone next to its territorial airspace.