Taiwan consists of a main island and several smaller islands in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Asian mainland.
The nation functions as an independent and democratic state, but is recognized as such by only a handful of countries. China sees Taiwan as a breakaway region that should be part of China.
China does not accept that other countries have relations with both Beijing and the Taiwanese government in Taipei.
Taiwan’s 23 million people have long lived with the threat of an invasion, but it has intensified under Xi Jinping’s tenure as president of China.
For strategic reasons, the US has chosen not to say clearly whether it will defend Taiwan in the event of an attack from China.