China threatens Taiwan and says “reunification” is “unstoppable”

The historic trend towards “reunification” between China and Taiwan is “unstoppable”, the Chinese government said on Wednesday, after the end of the latest round of large-scale military maneuvers carried out by Beijing around the autonomous island. At a press conference, Zhang Han, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council of the Chinese government, stated that the exercises were a “stern warning” to “separatist forces promoting Taiwan’s independence” and “external interference”, in reference to the United States and Japan.

The spokeswoman accused the authorities of the Democratic Progressive Party (PDP, ruling Taiwan) of “seeking independence in collusion with external forces”, which, according to her, “severely” harms cross-strait relations and “seriously” threatens peace and stability in the region. “Any form of ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist activity will never be tolerated and will be met with firm countermeasures,” Zhang said, in statements collected by Xinhua news agency.

The spokesperson also highlighted that “any external force that tries to interfere in the Taiwan issue or China’s internal affairs” will inevitably encounter the defense of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). “The historic trend toward national ‘reunification’ is unstoppable, and no one should underestimate China’s firm determination, unwavering will and solid ability to safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Zhang said.

These statements were made one day after the conclusion of the Justice-2025 Mission, large-scale military maneuvers on the outskirts of Taiwan, in which units from the Chinese Army’s army, navy, aviation and rocket force participated. According to data from Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense, Beijing used 207 aircraft, 31 warships and 16 Coast Guard vessels during the two days of exercises.

Tighter siege around Taiwan

At the end of the maneuvers, the Xinhua agency published an article that presents three main conclusions from the exercises, which began 11 days after the United States approved a plan to sell weapons to Taiwan worth a record US$11 billion.

The first key feature was that “the action began immediately,” which demonstrates “the PLA’s ability to integrate peacetime training with wartime operations,” said Zhang Chi, a professor at China National Defense University. “All energy facilities, major ports and military bases on which the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces depend are within the range of the PLA’s firepower,” he recalled.

The analyst also highlighted that these exercises have disrupted access routes to Taiwan from the north, south and east, a “three-sided siege” that exemplifies how the PLA can “put pressure on and contain separatist forces, while denying access to external interference.” Finally, Zhang highlighted that the maneuvers, in which seven air and sea zones were delimited around Taiwan, more than in previous war simulations, show that the “siege around the island is tightening even further”. “The PLA has fully exercised its capabilities to take air and maritime control of key areas and carry out long-range, high-precision strikes against important targets,” he said.