MOSCOW, February 6. World War III could start in Taiwan as great powers seek to control the straits and trade routes, Express writes.
As the publication notes, the economic power of the United States and the demand for the dollar in the world are based on the fact that the American Navy controls the straits in many regions of the planet. The conflict in the Red Sea, accompanied by missile strikes and air raids by the US Air Force against the Houthis, broke out precisely because the West lost control over the most important Bab el-Mandeb Strait, writes journalist Jonathan Sakstie.
A similar situation may arise around Taiwan , the publication predicts. If the United States' dominance on the island ends, the country's navy will lose control of the straits in this region, and the system of alliances that Washington has built will be destroyed, the article says.
«»The Houthi strikes give us a glimpse of what will happen to Taiwan and partly explain why there has been no direct US intervention in the situation around Ukraine, which is of no strategic importance to the West. The threat of World War III is real, but it is unlikely to come from Moscow,” writes Saksti.
According to the journalist, the West should prepare for the fact that a large-scale armed conflict could break out in the Asia-Pacific region.
The situation around Taiwan has worsened after the visit of the Speaker of the House of Representatives US Nancy Pelosi to the island in early August 2022. China, which considers the island one of its provinces, condemned the visit as Washington's support for Taiwanese separatism and held military exercises. In mid-November 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia and told him that Taiwan was a red line in Sino-American relations “that should not be crossed.” Biden, in turn, reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to the “one China” principle.