China Studying Ukraine War To Fintune Its Taiwan Invasion Plan

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Bill Burns says China is "carefully" following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and will likely learn from the conflict and will adjust its plans to take control of Taiwan, Euronews reported.

Photo Insert: According to CIA Director Bill Burns, Chinese leaders are studying "the costs and consequences" of the possible use of force to take control of Taiwan.

"Chinese leaders are carefully watching what lessons they can learn from Ukraine regarding their own ambitions and Taiwan," Burns said on Saturday.

Beijing was "surprised" by the setbacks the Russian army has suffered, and by the strong resistance in Ukrainian society, Burns said during a conference organized by the Financial Times newspaper. “I think they were particularly struck by the way NATO came together to impose economic sanctions on Russia in response to its aggression,” he continued.

China was "troubled by the fact that Putin brought Europeans closer to Americans," according to Bill Burns. “As to the conclusions drawn from this, that remains a question mark.”

According to Burns, Chinese leaders are studying "the costs and consequences" of the possible use of force to take control of Taiwan. The island's 23 million inhabitants live under the constant threat of an invasion by China, which sees Taiwan as part of its territory to be taken back one day, by force if necessary.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has heightened fears on the Taiwanese side that Beijing will follow through on its threats of annexation.

Burns also said at the conference that, at this stage, the CIA didn't have "any concrete evidence that Russia is preparing the deployment or even the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons."

He also said that Vladimir Putin "doesn't think he can afford to lose" the war in Ukraine, Agence France-Presse (AFP) also reported.

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