China’s military pressure on Taiwan is not showing any signs of abating soon. On December 12, Taiwan reported 16 Chinese warships and 34 aircraft near its waters, one of the highest numbers in 2024, as Beijing intensified military pressure on Taipei.
Taiwan authorities said China has been holding its biggest maritime drills in years from near the southern islands of Japan to the South China Sea. Around 90 Chinese warships and coast guard vessels have been involved in the exercises that include simulating attacks on foreign ships and practicing blockading sea routes, a Taiwanese security official said.
The official also said China began planning the massive maritime operation in October and aimed to demonstrate it could choke off Taiwan and to warn the second Trump administration not to interfere in Taiwan’s affairs.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry said China’s increased military activity around the island was evidence that Beijing was a “troublemaker”.
China regards democratically-governed Taiwan, which it has not rule before, as its own territory. China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under control.
On December 31, 2024, in his New Year’s speech, Chinese President Xi Jinping said no one can stop China’s “reunification” with Taiwan and it is a trend of the times. He added: “We Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same family. No one can ever sever the bond of kinship between us.”
In the past year, China has stepped up military pressure near Taiwan, sending warships and planes almost daily into the waters and air space around the island.
Taiwan’s president Lai Ching-te said in his New Year’s address on January 1 that only Taiwan’s people can decide their future. Lai, who took office in May 2024, has regularly offered to talk to China but was rebuffed as he is viewed as a “separatist”.
Xie Feng, China’s ambassador to Washington, told a forum in Hong Kong on November 15, 2024 that Taiwan is the “biggest flashpoint” between China and the U.S. that may trigger conflict and confrontation.
He emphasized that the Taiwan question is at the very core of China’s core interests, and is the bedrock of the political foundation of China – U.S. relations. He warned that any force trying to play Taiwan as a card would be playing with fire.
Xie said to truly uphold peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, one should commit to the one-China principle and the three Sino-U.S. Joint Communiques in both word and deed, and unequivocally oppose Taiwan independence.
In a sign of the rocky road ahead for Sino – U.S. relationship, Trump has picked China hawks and vocal critics of the Chinese Communist Party to serve in his second administration, among them Marco Rubio as secretary of state, Mike Waltz as national security adviser, Pete Hegseth as defense secretary, John Ratcliffe as Central Intelligence Agency chief, and David Perdue as ambassador to China.
U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, allowed by the Taiwan Relations Act, have also continued to strain China’s ties with Washington. On October 25, 2024, in the latest arms sales to Taiwan, the U.S. has approved a potential US$2 billion package, the Pentagon said.
The arms package includes the delivery for the first time to Taiwan of an advanced air defense missile system battle-tested in the ongoing Russia – Ukraine war.
In a statement, the Pentagon said: “This proposed sale serves U.S. national, economic, and security interests by supporting the recipient’s continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability.
“The proposed sale will help improve the security of the recipient and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance, and economic progress in the region.”
Photo credit: iStock/ HUNG CHIN LIU
