Could China ever invade Taiwan – and what would happen next?

With a record number of Chinese fighters flying sorties in Taiwan’s air defence zone in October, and rhetoric on all sides becoming more heated, many observers say the past few weeks have been the most tense in the region for decades. How serious is the prospect of an attempt by Beijing to take back the island that it has claimed since 1949 – and would an attack draw the US into a major international conflict?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus