China conflict over Taiwan risks a nuclear escalation, study finds

A conflict between the US and China over Taiwan would risk a nuclear escalation with both militaries likely to stage sweeping operations targeting rival command and communications hubs, a leading defence research centre said on Thursday. In a strategic assessment ahead of Asia’s biggest annual defence meeting in Singapore this weekend, the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said the world was on the cusp of a new nuclear arms race “with the Asia-Pacific at its core”. “Regional states and those with strategic interests are expanding their nuclear arsenals, while non-nuclear weapons states pursue long-range conventional-strike capabilities: both challenging…