Beijing warns of ‘heavy price’ for ‘obstructing China’s reunification’ with Taiwan as US, Japan stage military drills

Mainland Chinese mission in Tokyo issues the message after Japanese media say this year’s ‘Keen Edge’ exercise centres around mock Taiwan conflict

According to reports, this is the first time Beijing has been named as ‘hypothetical enemy’ in the biennial US-Japan joint drill

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American warships take part in a three-day maritime exercise between the US and Japan in the Philippine Sea on January 31. Tokyo’s growing security alliance with Washington has strained its ties with Beijing in recent years. Photo: AFP

Published: 6:00pm, 7 Feb 2024Updated: 4:21am, 8 Feb 2024

Beijing’s embassy in Tokyo warned that anyone obstructing China’s reunification would pay a “heavy price” as the US and Japan hold biennial joint drills reportedly featuring a mock conflict over Taiwan.

Citing anonymous government sources, Japanese media reported that Washington and Tokyo had named Beijing as a “hypothetical enemy” for the first time during this year’s “Keen Edge” exercise. According to the reports, this year’s drill centres around a Taiwan contingency.

“If anyone insists on meddling in China’s internal affairs and obstructing China’s reunification, then it will not just be about the issue of a so-called hypothetical enemy – they will have to pay a heavy price,” the embassy said in a written statement on Tuesday.

According to the US Indo-Pacific command, the Australian Defence Force also joined the eight-day exercise, which will wrap up on Thursday.

Reports also said the drills used real, unaltered maps for the exercise, breaking a norm of using maps that differ slightly from real ones.

Beijing said it expressed its “grave concerns” to Tokyo following the media reports, while Japan denied the accuracy of the drill details described in the reports, according to the Chinese embassy’s statement.

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of its territory, to be reunited by force if necessary.

Like most countries, Japan and the US – two of the island’s close allies – do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state. But they are opposed to any change in the cross-strait status quo, and Washington is committed to supplying Taipei with weapons.