Taiwan president warns of ‘catastrophic consequences’ if island falls to China

Tsai Ing-wen says Taiwan will do whatever it takes to defend itself' against an increasingly assertive Beijing

Taiwan is committed to defending its democracy against an increasingly aggressive China, the island's president has vowed, warning of catastrophic consequences" for the region should it fall.

The comments from Tsai Ing-wen, in an essay published on Tuesday, came amid record-breaking incursions by Chinese warplanes into its air defence zone. On Tuesday Taiwan's premier, Su Tseng-chang, said the over the top" activity violated regional peace, and Taiwan needed to be on alert.