Another day, another threat from China about Taiwan. Today the Chinese military threatened to smash any form of independence.

A recent increase in exchanges between the U.S. and Taiwanese militaries is an “extremely wrong and dangerous move,” Defense Ministry spokesperson Col. Tan Kefei said in a statement and video posted online.

China’s People’s Liberation Army “continues to strengthen military training and preparations and will resolutely smash any form of Taiwanese independence secession along with attempts at outside interference, and will resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Tan said, in a reference to Taiwan’s closest ally, the United States…

Attempts to “seek independence by relying on the United States” and “seek independence by military might” are a “dead end,” Tan said.

What set China off this time was an announcement from the US Sec. of Defense Lloyd Austin that more military assistance would be heading to Taiwan soon.

The Biden Administration will soon send Taiwan military weapons and equipment from its stockpiles but will require Congress to free up dollars to backfill that delivery, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said today.

When Congress approved the fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, it included a provision enabling the administration to send $1 billion military in aid to Taiwan via the Presidential Drawdown Authority — the measure used to expedite weapon deliveries to Ukraine — which takes weapons from existing Pentagon stocks and ships them overseas. When asked about reports that the Pentagon is finally ready to use this power with a $500 million PDA package, Austin confirmed to senators that it is in the works.

“You are correct: We are working on an initiative, and we hope to have an action forthcoming here in the near term,” he told members of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

As I write this it is already Wednesday morning in Taiwan and former British Prime Minister Liz Truss is in Taipei making a speech about the UK’s relationship with China.

In a speech in Taipei, Truss is due to call for Sunak to make good on his Conservative leadership campaign pledge last year to designate China as a strategic “threat”…

The West cannot avoid another “Cold War” with China, the former Conservative leader will argue in the speech to the Prospect Foundation in Taipei, according to excerpts released by her office.

“The only choice we have is whether we appease and accommodate — or we take action to prevent conflict.”

Finally, I’ve written before about the world’s largest chipmaker, TSMC, which is potentially the big prize for China if it seizes Taiwan by force. Today, there are reports that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway no longer holds any stake in TSMC.

In February, Berkshire revealed it had sold 86% of its shares in TSMC, which were purchased for $4.1 billion just months before. The quick sale was considered unusual because Buffett is known for making longer term bets.

Asked to explain his decision on an analyst call this month, the billionaire said: “I don’t like its location, and I’ve reevaluated that.”

“I feel better about the capital that we’ve got deployed in Japan than in Taiwan,” the Berkshire Hathaway chairman added. “I wish it weren’t sold, but I think that’s a reality.”

Given the way China is making threats these days it’s hard to blame Buffett for being worried. China is serious about doing to Taiwan what it has already done to Hong Kong. It probably does depend to some extent on what lessons China takes away from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Right now that’s not looking like a very smart decision on Putin’s part.