Singapore¡¯s leader downplayed the likelihood of an imminent conflict over Taiwan, saying China isn¡¯t ¡°trigger happy¡± about taking over the self-governing island it has long viewed as its territory.

¡°They would like Taiwan to be part of ¡®one China,¡¯¡± but aren¡¯t sure how to make it happen, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Wednesday at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore. Unless Beijing is provoked, the world isn¡¯t ¡°going to wake up one day and find that they¡¯ve decided to launch D-Day,¡± he added.

Referring to a brutal World War II battle between the U.S. and Japan over another Pacific island, Lee said that ¡°Attacking Taiwan is not like doing Iwo Jima, and Iwo Jima was bloody enough.¡±