US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recently expressed doubts as to whether or not a Chinese invasion of Taiwan is imminent, as we read in the Japan Times:

when asked directly about the chances of an attack on Taiwan in the near future, Austin was dismissive. “I won’t second-guess Mr. Xi, but what I will tell you is that what we are seeing is some very provocative behavior on the part of China’s forces,” Austin said of Chinese leader Xi Jinping and recent military moves around the self-ruled island and elsewhere. “We believe that they endeavor to establish a new normal, but whether or not that means that an invasion is imminent, you know, I seriously doubt that.”