Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to military base puts concern over US intervention in Taiwan conflict in spotlight
- Military analysts said Beijing is trying to prepare for the possibility that the US and possibly Japan would intervene in a cross-strait conflict
- Xi warned the PLA that the country is facing an ‘increasingly unstable and uncertain’ security outlook
Xi, who also chairs the Central Military Commission, praised the command’s “significant contribution” to safeguarding China’s territory sovereignty and national unity when visiting headquarters of the command in Nanjing, a city in the eastern province of Jiangsu on Thursday.
He also urged People’s Liberation Army commanders to stay alert to potential risks, warning that the county’s security situation was “increasingly unstable and uncertain” as the world entered “a new period of turmoil and transformation”.
Their visit also came days after the armed services committees of both the House and Senate approved the 2024 US National Defence Authorisation Act, which calls for joint military exercises with Taiwan and comprehensive training of the island’s forces.
“The congressional group’s Taiwan visit is putting more pressure on Beijing and reminding Xi that Washington is escalating military intervention in a possible Taiwan war endorsed by the NDAA,” Ni said.