'Nowhere To Hide:' Taiwanese On Front-Line Islands Fear 'A War Is Possible' With China

After China conducted one of its largest military drills in and around Taiwan Straight in response to visits by U.S. lawmakers, the Taiwanese front-line Islands resident fear that the prospects of an invasion by China are high.

What Happened: Scared by massive live-fire drills by the Chinese People's Liberation Army, residents of islands close to China's coast said, "a war is possible," Reuters reported.

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"I don't feel particularly safe — after all this island, Dongyin, would be the front line of the battlefield," Dora Liu from Dongyin island, the northernmost territory Taiwan controls.

"A small island like ours could be taken down in a moment," she said, adding, "if there is a war, there would be no place to hide. No matter how many tunnels we have, if they really occupied us, there would be no use in having tunnels."

Another Taiwanese resident Chien Chun-te, who operates a stall outside a market on the main island of Nangan, said, "I think a war is possible."

However, she hoped that the two governments come together to find a solution instead of indulging in a war. "Having no communication would only lead to hatred."

The U.S. on late Wednesday announced that it began formal negotiation talks with Taiwan on a bilateral trade agreement to deepen economic ties, a move that could further anger Beijing. The first round of trade talks with the island nation are slated to occur "early this fall."

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