Taiwan defence minister: China could mount ‘full-scale’ invasion of Taiwan by 2025

China could be capable of mounting a “full-scale” invasion of Taiwan by 2025, the island’s defense minister said days after record numbers of Chinese warplanes flew into Taiwan’s air defense zone.

“With regards to staging an attack on Taiwan, they currently have the ability. But [China] has to pay the price,” Chiu Kuo-cheng, the defense minister, told Taiwanese journalists on Wednesday.

But he said that by 2025, that price will be lower — and China will be able to mount a “full-scale” invasion.