Located just 100 miles off the coast of mainland China, the nation of Taiwan sits in the so-called 'first island chain' - a group of US-friendly territories deemed crucial to American foreign policy.

Yet China's president Xi Jinping maintains that Chinese reunification with Taiwan must be fulfilled. He's not ruled out the possible use of military force - and neither has US president Joe Biden. Tensions have grown even in the last few weeks, so to what extent can tensions over Taiwan be compared to those between Russia and Ukraine?

In this episode James is joined by Samir Puri, Senior Fellow in Urban Security and Hybrid Warfare at the International Institute for Strategic Studies based in Singapore, to take a deep dive into the history between China & Taiwan and answer the question: could Taiwan really become China's Ukraine?

Produced by Sophie Gee and Aidan Lonergan. Edited by Aidan Lonergan.

For more Warfare content, subscribe to our Warfare Wednesday newsletter here. If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download, go to Android or Apple store.