Ex-Trump security adviser warns of China 'mischief' on Taiwan by 2024

Robert O'Brien points to window between Beijing Olympics and U.S. presidential race

Robert O'Brien, who served as national security adviser to former U.S. President Donald Trump, urged countries including Japan, India and the U.K. to deter China from invading Taiwan. © Reuters

RYO NAKAMURA, Nikkei staff writer

November 2, 2021 04:49 JST

WASHINGTON -- China may consider military action on Taiwan by the next U.S. presidential election in 2024, former U.S. national security adviser Robert O'Brien told Nikkei, raising the alarm over the growing tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

O'Brien predicted that China will not do anything to jeopardize the Beijing Olympics in February. But Beijing worries that former President Donald Trump or a China hawk like former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will win the White House in 2024, he said in a recent virtual interview.