China’s President Xi Jinping warned that ‘no one can stop’ unification with Taiwan in a chilling New Year’s Eve threat.
Beijing claims the self-ruled island as part of its territory, and has said it will not renounce the use of force to bring it under its control.
China has intensified pressure on the democratic island in recent years, and has staged three rounds of major military drills since President Lai Ching-te came to power in May.
The last of these earlier this month were the largest in years according to Taiwanese officials, although Beijing has not officially confirmed the manoeuvres.
‘Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family. No one can sever our blood ties, and no one can stop the historical trend of the reunification of the motherland,’ Xi said in a speech broadcast on state media.
Xi’s comments come just weeks before Donald Trump takes office in the United States.
Taiwan remains a significant point of disagreement between China and the US.
While the US doesn’t formally recognise Taiwan, it is a key strategic partner and its main arms supplier.
‘Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family. No one can sever our blood ties, and no one can stop the historical trend of the reunification of the motherland,’ Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a speech broadcast on state media
People walk past a screen that shows Chinese President Xi Jinping delivering a New Year message in Beijing, China, 31 December, 2024
A parade unit of the Chinese Armed Forces during the Victory Day military parade in Red Square marking the 75th anniversary of the victory in World War II, on June 24, 2020 in Moscow, Russia
The US-China relationship may sour further after Trump is inaugurated on January 20, with the president-elect vowing more tariffs to punish what he calls unfair trade practices by China.
However, Beijing denies the allegations.
China views Taiwan, a self-governing island as its territory and maintains it will use force if necessary to achieve control.
Beijing has increased pressure on Taiwan, conducting three major military exercises since President Lai Ching-te assumed office in May.
The most recent drills, which took place earlier this month, were reportedly the largest in several years, according to Taiwanese officials.
In October, China carried out ‘total blockade’ drills around Taiwan after Taipei vowed to resist any Beijing attack in the same month.
China deployed fighter jets and warships to encircle Taiwan in drills Beijing said were aimed at sending a ‘stern warning’ to ‘separatist’ forces on the self-ruled island.
Beijing has not ruled out using force to bring Taiwan under its control and the drills represented its fourth round of large-scale war games in the past two years.
In May, after Ching-te’s inauguration, large scale drills were announced – dubbed Joint Sword 2024A – which combined air and sea operations and missile forces, surrounding Taiwan from all sides while simulating a blockade.
The drills were ‘focusing on subjects of sea-air combat-readiness patrol, blockade on key ports and areas’, Captain Li Xi, spokesman for the Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command said.
Armed military vehicles patrol outside the Songshan Airport in Taipei after China deployed fighter jets and warships to encircle Taiwan on October 14, in drills Beijing said were aimed at sending a ‘stern warning’ to ‘separatist’ forces on the self-ruled island
Taiwan Navy Kuang Hua VI-class missile boats maneuver at the Keelung military harbor in Keelung city, Taiwan, October 14, 2024
Footage captured the moment Taiwan’s coast guard warned a Chinese vessel spotted near Matsu Islands
They also practised an ‘assault on maritime and ground targets’, and fighter jets and warships had been deployed, Chinese state media said.
China warned that efforts towards ‘Taiwan independence’ and peace were ‘irreconcilable’ as its military launched its drills.
‘Taiwan independence and peace in the Taiwan Strait are irreconcilable,’ foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said, warning that ‘provocations from pro-independence forces will inevitably face countermeasures’.
The United States said China’s actions were ‘unwarranted’ and risk ‘escalation’ as it called on Beijing to act with restraint.
China has ramped up military activity around Taiwan in recent years, sending in warplanes and other military aircraft while its ships maintain a near-constant presence around the island’s waters.
‘In the face of enemy threats, all officers and soldiers of the country are in full readiness,’ Taiwan’s defence ministry said at the time of the drills.
President Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party has long defended the sovereignty and democracy of Taiwan, which has its own government, military and currency.
But Beijing said the drills were ‘a legitimate and necessary operation for safeguarding state sovereignty and national unity’.
The current dispute between China and Taiwan dates back to a civil war in which the nationalist forces of Chiang Kai-shek were defeated by Mao Zedong’s communist fighters and fled to Taiwan in 1949.
Since then, China and Taiwan have been ruled separately.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
