TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Russian invasion of Ukraine would encourage China to ramp up pressure on Taiwan, Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton said recently.

Dutton said any developments in the crisis on the Ukrainian border will affect the security situation in the Indo-Pacific region. If Russia attacked Ukraine, it would result in a new wave of Chinese aggression against Taiwan, The Australian cited him as saying.

During the Cold War, the decades of instability in Eastern Europe affected other parts of the world, the defense minister pointed out. He said he believes that it does not matter whether the situation in Ukraine will prevent the U.S. from paying adequate attention to developments in the Indo-Pacific region or cause oil prices to soar — it will undoubtedly lead to severe international instability.

Dutton stressed that the Australian government should watch closely to see whether China takes action against Taiwan if a conflict breaks out between Russia and Ukraine.