(Bloomberg) -- China’s military warned it would ramp up pressure on Taiwan when necessary, a sign that the US-backed democracy of 23 million people can expect a repeat of the intense exercises seen to start the week.
“Once ‘Taiwan independence’ provokes, the PLA’s actions will be pushed further until the Taiwan issue is completely resolved,” said Wu Qian, a spokesman for the Defense Ministry in Beijing, referring to the People’s Liberation Army.
“We just want to use language that the ‘Taiwan independence’ elements can understand to make them understand that a sharp sword hangs high over their heads,” Wu said late Monday, according to a social media post by the ministry.
The comments are a sign that Beijing intends to ramp up pressure on President Lai Ching-te even after holding major drills by its armed forces twice since he took office in May. On Monday, China’s military held maneuvers around Taiwan’s main island and some smaller outposts that it said were intended as a warning to Lai’s government to stop “separatist acts.”
China said the exercises involved army, navy, air and missile forces, and that they practiced a “blockade on key ports and areas.” Beijing said early Monday evening that the exercises had ended.
A record 90 PLA aircraft crossed a line in the strait midway between Taiwan and China, said Taipei, which condemned the activity. On Tuesday, Taiwan Premier Cho Jung-tai said that if China held more drills, “we’ll all be prepared and continue to be prepared.”
“We have done this in the past and will do so in the future,” he said.
The State Department said that the US was “seriously concerned” about the drills. President Joe Biden has repeatedly pledged to defend the semiconductor hub that sits astride a major shipping lane from any attack by China. Beijing has said it must bring Taiwan under its control someday, by force if necessary.
The PLA’s military maneuvers drills came after Lai said in a speech last week that he’d work to “resist annexation or encroachment upon our sovereignty” and reiterated that neither side of the strait was “subordinate to each other” — an address that angered China.
Wu, the Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman, made his remarks in response to a question from a reporter about Lai’s speech on Taiwan’s National Day. Underscoring China’s disdain for the new president, Wu also said of Lai that he “and his ilk have forgotten their ancestors” and provoked “hostility and confrontation.”
“We will never promise to give up the use of force and will never leave the slightest room for ‘Taiwan independence’,” Wu added.
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