While China might be testing the world's level of tolerance with respect to Taiwan, the United States should employ the "porcupine theory" to keep it "difficult to digest," according to former NATO Commander Adm. James Stavridis.

"I think you're going to see the Biden administration draw closer to Taipei and work more closely with the Taiwanese military," Stavridis told Sunday's "The Cats Roundtable" on WABC 770 AM-N.Y.

The goal, Stavridis told host John Catsimatidis, would be "to try to create a sense" from China's perspective "that if you try to take Taiwan militarily, you will face a very challenging military scenario."

"This is sometimes called the porcupine theory, which is to say if Taiwan becomes spiny and difficult to digest, it's less likely that China would want to take a pass at them," Stavridis said.

The Biden administration has mostly kept to the Trump administration's position on Taiwan, but that does not mean China will expect that to hold, according to Stavridis.

"China has been very clear: They intend to bring back what they consider a rogue province back into the fold and make it a part of China," he said. "The question is are they willing to roll the dice and try to do that militarily. I don't think they are yet – principally, because they don’t really know what the response would be."

While China is building a stronger military and Navy, the U.S. military remains "very strong and very capable," he continued.

Stavridis did note Iran's election of "an extreme hard-liner as president" will have more immediate attention from the U.S. military.

"We've got some real tensions coming," he said. "You see it in the recent strikes that the Biden administration conducted against Iranian-backed militia‘s in Iraq. There is going to be more and more tension in the Middle East."

The alliance with Israel remains vital, he added.

"We should be working as closely as we can with Israel and with her gulf Arab partners," Stavridis said. "We should encourage those two to draw closer together. And we should continue to maintain sanctions on Iran unless and until Iran makes a good-faith change in its behavior around the region, it's pursuit of nuclear weapons, and it's desire for long-range ballistic missiles."

The new president does make "all of those unlikely," though, Stavridis concluded.

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