Beijing decries ‘contradictory’ US remarks about Taiwan, promises to ‘speak with actions’ against separatist activity

Defence ministry spokesman says mainland still hopes for peaceful reunification but will act if Taipei politicians ‘refuse to come to their senses’
The comments come after Pentagon official says PLA unlikely to attack island by 2030, while CIA director says Xi wants military ready by 2027

Taiwan

Teddy Ng

Published: 3:12pm, 24 Feb 2023

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Beijing accused the United States of presenting a “contradictory” assessment of the risk of a military conflict in Taiwan and said that if Taipei politicians continued to “collude with external forces”, they could push the island into a dangerous position.

Chinese defence ministry spokesman Tan Kefei said on Thursday that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was determined to block efforts promoting Taiwan independence.

US assistant secretary of defence for Indo-Pacific security affairs Ely Ratner said on February 9 that Beijing was unlikely to attack Taiwan by 2030, and the Pentagon did not believe that an attack was imminent.

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But US Central Intelligence Agency director William Burns said on February 2 that Chinese President Xi Jinping had ordered the military to be ready to conduct an invasion of Taiwan by 2027.

He said that did not mean Beijing had decided to attack Taiwan in 2027, but that the US should not underestimate Xi’s ambitions with regard to the island.

“We’ve noticed that the US side seems to be in the habit of making such contradictory remarks,” Tan said in a press conference on Thursday.

Tan said Beijing was still striving for peaceful reunification with Taiwan, but added that the PLA would take decisive action to safeguard its territory.

He said if Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities refused to “come to their senses” and continued to “collude with external forces” to pursue independence, potentially “putting Taiwan compatriots in a dangerous situation”, the PLA would “speak out with actions” and take necessary measures to defeat separatist activities.

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Mainland China and Taiwan split in 1949 at the end of a civil war in which the nationalist Kuomintang was defeated by Communist Party forces and fled to Taipei.

Beijing sees the island as part of China and has never ruled out the use of force to take control of it.

Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state. Washington, however, opposes any attempt to take the island by force.

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Cross-strait tensions have been on the rise since Tsai Ing-wen of the independence-leaning DPP became the island’s president in 2016. Tsai’s administration has boosted ties with the US, triggering a furious response from Beijing.

A delegation led by Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and National Security Council Secretary General Wellington Koo met senior officials from the White House and the US state and defence departments at the Washington headquarters of the American Institute in Taiwan on Tuesday.

Taiwan also plans to send at least 500 soldiers to the US for combat training later this year.

Beijing has stepped up military drills, including sending fighter jets to encircle the island, to warn Taipei against building closer ties with the US.