An audio recording from China was recently leaked and reveals that there was a secret plan to invade Taiwan, according to a media report. Many observers say this could lead to World World III, especially since President Joe Biden recently vowed to defend Taiwan if ever China invaded the small island nation.

China insists that Taiwan is a part of its territory and cannot exist as a sovereign nation.

The explosive audio leak was that of a top-secret meeting of the People’s Liberation Army, The Times of India reported. The People’s Liberation Army is the principal military force of the People’s Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party.

The audio clip was reportedly posted on the YouTube channel of Lude media (as well as the company’s Twitter page), and experts say it appears to be authentic.

Lude (Wang DingGang), a Chinese YouTube influencer, owns Lude media.

The meeting took place on May 14 and revealed the planned operation against Taiwan would include China safeguarding the Pearl River Delta area in the Guangdong province in South China. The area is the hub of Chinese trading and includes the trading center of Guangzhou.

Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 74: Jamarlin Martin Jamarlin returns for a new season of the GHOGH podcast to discuss Bitcoin, bubbles, and Biden. He talks about the risk factors for Bitcoin as an investment asset including origin risk, speculative market structure, regulatory, and environment. Are broader financial markets in a massive speculative bubble?

The meeting went into great detail.

“First, the mobilization tasks issued to our province by the eastern and southern war zones totaling 20 categories and 239 items, mainly 1,358 detachments of various types with a total of 140,000 personnel, 953 ships of various types, and 1,653 units/sets of various unmanned equipment,” the audio said, as reported by The Times of India.

It continued, “Other resources include 20 airports and docks, 6 repair and shipbuilding yards, 14 emergency transfer centers, and resources such as grain depots, hospitals, blood stations, oil depots, gas stations, etc. Second, the national defense mobilization recruitment office will recruit new military service personnel, retired military personnel, and special talents totaling 15,500 people from our province.”

This isn’t the first time there have been reports of China’s plans to invade Taiwan. Back in March, there was a purported Russian intelligence document that claimed Chinese President Xi Jinping had plans to annex Taiwan by fall 2021, Newsweek reported.

The whistleblower who leaked the document said, “Not only that: Xi Jinping was at least tentatively considering the capture of Taiwan in the autumn—he needs his own small victory in order to be re-elected for a third term—there is a colossal power struggle among the [party] elite.”

But the whistleblower said Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine had hindered China’s plans. “Now, after the events in Ukraine, this window of opportunity has shut, which gives the United States the opportunity to both blackmail Xi and negotiate with his [political] rivals on favorable terms,” the whistleblower told Newsweek.

Photo: Chinese soldiers based in Hong Kong demonstrate their skill at the Shek Kong barracks of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Garrison during an open day to celebrate the upcoming 21st anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese sovereignty from British rule in Hong Kong on June 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)