In his New Year’s speech, Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a brutal warning to Taiwan as the nation continues its war games against the autonomous province.
President Xi is ringing in the New Year with talks about world peace and praising his “best friend” Vladimir Putin.
But his most prominent message was a warning that no one can stop China’s “reunification” with Taiwan.
Realigning the autonomous province with mainland China has long been a goal of Xi and recent military activity has shown China is willing to take it back by force.
China has previously called Taiwan independence a futile effort and annexation by Beijing a “historic inevitability.”
The President said: “The people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family.
“No one can break our family ties and no one can stop the historical trend of national reunification.”
Tensions in the region have been high, especially after the election of the island’s last president, William Lai Ching-te, in May, who has been branded a “separatist” by Beijing.
Xi Jinping’s army has increased its military activity in the area in recent years as a show of force.
This included encircling the skies and waters of Taiwan in October, conducting joint drills with its warships and fighter jets almost daily near the island.
An aircraft carrier was adorned with a message warning Taiwan and separatist supporters: “We are prepared for battle.”
Meanwhile, China has closed key ports as the island’s leaders continue to refuse to recognize Taiwan as part of China.
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China’s Eastern Theater Command said the war games “serve as a stern warning to the separatist acts of Taiwan independence forces.”
He also added that they were “a legitimate and necessary operation to safeguard state sovereignty and national unity.”
Taiwan called such measures “irrational and provocative.”
In exchange, he sent “appropriate forces” via fighter jets armed with missiles.
Ahead of this round of war games, China raised tensions again in May when it filled the skies over Taiwan with dozens of fighter jets.
The exercises continued for more than 24 hours with 27 warships and 62 fighter planes blockading the island.
Why does China want to invade Taiwan?
TAIWAN insists it is an independent nation after separating from mainland China amid civil war in 1949.
But China claims that Taiwan remains part of its territory with which it must eventually be reunited and has not ruled out the use of force to take the island and place it under the management of Beijing.
The island, which is about 100 miles off the coast of southeastern China, is considered distinct from mainland China, with its own constitution and democratically elected leaders.
Taiwan is located in the so-called “first island chain,” which includes a list of US-friendly territories that are crucial to Washington’s foreign policy in the region.
This also puts it in a very best position to stop a Chinese attack against the West.
And with tensions high between the two nations, Taiwan is likely to help China’s enemy if it means maintaining its independence.
Taiwan’s economy is another factor in China’s desperation to reclaim the land.
If China takes the island, it could have more freedom to project power in the Western Pacific and rival the United States, thanks to much of the world’s electronics being made in Taiwan.
This would allow Beijing to have control over an industry that drives the global economy.
China insists its intentions are peaceful, but President Xi Jinping has also used threats toward the small island nation.
If tensions escalate to a military confrontation, Taiwan’s military will be dwarfed by Chinese forces, with China being the second largest defense spender after the United States.
Taiwan Fears that a “surprise attack” from China is inevitable and has been preparing for war for years Xi had promised for years to take back the island by force “if necessary.”
In May, a chilling message was sent to the Taiwanese government saying they were heading toward “a dangerous situation of war and danger.”
China’s defense chief Dong Jun said: “The Chinese Standard Liberation Army has always been an indestructible and powerful force in defending the unification of the motherland.
“It will act at all times with determination and strength to stop Taiwan’s independence and ensure that it never succeeds in its attempts.
“Whoever dares to separate Taiwan from China will be crushed and suffer their own destruction.”
Despite such tensions, Xi declared on New Year’s Eve that he would promote “world peace.”
“No matter how the international situation changes, China will remain steadfast in further comprehensively deepening reform… and promoting world peace and development,” he said.
In the speech he addressed Putin and praised the Russian leader for being his “best friend” and a “reliable partner.”
Xi told Putin: “In the face of rapidly evolving changes not seen in a century and the turbulent international situation, China and Russia have consistently moved hand in hand along the right path of non-alignment, non-confrontation and non-targeting. “any third party.”
This year marked the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Russia, marking “a new important milestone in the relationship between the two countries,” Xi said.
With Putin’s continuing conflict in Ukraine and President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, international politics in 2025 will be as unpredictable as ever.
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