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-governing 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 stepped up pressure on the democratic island in recent years and has held three rounds of major military exercises since President Lai Ching-te came to power in May.
The latest such maneuvers earlier this month were the largest in years according to Taiwanese officials, although Beijing has not officially confirmed the maneuvers.
‘The Chinese 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 by state media.
Xi’s comments come just weeks before Donald Trump takes office in the United States.
Taiwan remains a major point of contention between China and the United States.
While the United States does not formally recognize Taiwan, it is a key strategic partner and its main arms supplier.
‘The Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family. “No one can break our blood ties and no one can stop the historical trend of the reunification of the motherland,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping in a speech broadcast by state media.
People walk past a screen showing Chinese President Xi Jinping delivering a New Year message in Beijing, China, on December 31, 2024.
A parade unit of the Chinese Armed Forces during the Victory Day military parade on Red Square marking the 75th anniversary of the victory in World War II, on June 24, 2020 in Moscow, Russia
The relationship between the United States and China may deteriorate further after Trump is inaugurated on January 20, with the president-elect promising more tariffs to punish what he calls unfair trade practices by China.
However, Beijing denies the allegations.
China considers Taiwan, a self-governing island, its territory and maintains it will use force if necessary to achieve control.
Beijing has increased pressure on Taiwan and held three major military exercises since President Lai Ching-te took office in May.
According to Taiwanese officials, the most recent drills, which took place earlier this month, were the largest in several years.
In October, China held “total lockdown” exercises around Taiwan after Taipei vowed to resist any attack from Beijing later that month.
China deployed fighter jets and warships to surround Taiwan in exercises that Beijing said were aimed at sending a “severe warning” to “separatist” forces on the self-ruled island.
Beijing has not ruled out using force to bring Taiwan under its control and the exercises represented its fourth round of large-scale war games in the past two years.
In May, after Ching-te’s takeover, large-scale exercises, dubbed Joint Sword 2024A, were announced, combining air and sea operations and missile forces, surrounding Taiwan on all sides while simulating a blockade.
The exercises “focused on issues of air-sea combat readiness patrolling and blockade of key ports and areas,” said Capt. Li Xi, spokesman for the Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command.
Armed military vehicles patrol outside Songshan Airport in Taipei after China deployed fighter jets and warships to encircle Taiwan on October 14, in exercises that Beijing said were aimed at sending a “severe warning” to the forces. separatists” on the autonomous island.
Taiwan Navy’s Kuang Hua VI-class missile boats maneuver at Keelung Military Port in Keelung City, Taiwan, October 14, 2024
Footage captured as Taiwan’s coast guard warned of a Chinese ship spotted near the Matsu Islands.
They also practiced an “assault on maritime and land targets” and had deployed fighter jets and warships, Chinese state media said.
China warned that efforts towards “Taiwan independence” and peace were “irreconcilable” as its military launched its exercises.
“Taiwan independence and peace in the Taiwan Strait are irreconcilable,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, warning that “provocations by pro-independence forces will inevitably face countermeasures.”
The United States said China’s actions were “unjustified” and risked “escalation,” and called on Beijing to exercise restraint.
China has stepped up military activity around Taiwan in recent years, sending fighter jets and other military aircraft while its ships maintain a near-constant presence in the island’s waters.
“In the face of enemy threats, all officers and soldiers in the country are fully prepared,” Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said at the time of the exercises.
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 exercises were “a legitimate and necessary operation to safeguard state sovereignty and national unity.”
The current dispute between China and Taiwan dates back to a civil war in which Chiang Kai-shek’s nationalist forces were defeated by Mao Zedong’s communist fighters and fled to Taiwan in 1949.
Since then, China and Taiwan have been governed separately.