Sir Iain Duncan Smith has told Nigel Farage on GB News that the western withdrawal for Afghanistan, and the subsequent Taliban takeover, have wider implications for China. Sir Iain told the former Brexit Party leader that China has been "encouraged" by the outcome of the war in Afghanistan with Beijing now seeing the US and Joe Biden as "weak." The Tory MP warned an emboldened China is now looking to exert pressure on Taiwan amid concerns of a military invasion of the island enclave.

       Sir Iain told Farage on Sky News: "China has now recognised the Taliban and their foreign minister met with the leader of the Taliban and they are therefore very well placed to support them, it is also interesting that Russia is in the same boat.

       "Now China, as soon as that happened, a day later, the Global Times...which is the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Pary...President Xi pretty much wrote an editorial which said that lookout Taiwan when the war begins the Americans aren't coming.

       "So they are already preparing.

       "I gather there was some like 10 or 14 flights over Taiwan today by Chinese military aircraft."

       He added: "And there was a statement released late yesterday to say in terms that China now says to Taiwan either give up or we are going to take you back.

       "So all of this has encouraged China to believe that America and Joe Biden are fairly weak and they won't do anything because they are running away from Afghanistan.

       "This is the point that is really important for us to understand we are in an ideological war if we like it or not with those totalitarian states who are now growing in power.

       "China will soon be the world's largest economy."

       It comes as former US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien has warned that China is looking to intimidate Taiwan, and use the crisis in Afghanistan to undermine trust in the US.

       Mr O'Brien told Fox News: "Taiwan is a geopolitical prize of all of Asia and all the Pacific it is kind of the cork in the champagne bottle.

       "It keeps the PLA Navy tied up and if they get Taiwan they have got open access to the whole Pacific, all the way to Hawaii, all the way to California where I am sitting now.

       "And they want it badly and they are trying to intimidate using psychological warfare, and these photos coming out of Kabul are really terrible.

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       He added: "We need to send a strong message quickly to the Taiwanese that we are with them.

       "But also to the Chinese that we are not walking away from our alliances, our friends, and our partners."

       Asked if China would actually attempt a Hong Kong-style takeover of Taiwan, Mr O'Brien replied: "General Secretary Xi says he is going to reunite Taiwan with China and he is going to do it one way or the other.

       "I think often time we are a little conceited in the west and in America we don't listen to these authoritarians and these dictators, we don't believe what they say, I think we need to be very careful and listen to what he says, he is running major military operations all the time, they are spending a fortune to build up their military."