With a new and unpredictable US president in the Oval Office and increased signs of China’s belligerence in the Taiwan Strait, fears are growing that Beijing is accelerating plans to invade Taiwan, the island democracy that the Communist superpower regards as a renegade province.

Alarm bells rang on Wednesday with news that undersea cables connecting Taiwan with the Matsu Islands had been damaged. Taiwanese authorities said the incident may have resulted from natural decay. But already this month, Taiwanese authorities said a Chinese-owned vessel had damaged an undersea internet cable to the north-east of the island, even as Beijing’s jets and warships continue to circle the island of 23 million people.