BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday vowed to pursue “reunification” with Taiwan by peaceful means and asserted that the country firmly opposes any foreign interference in the matter.
His remarks come amidst the rising tensions between Beijing and Taipei after nearly 150 Chinese military aircraft breached the airspace of Taiwan over a period of four days.
“The Taiwan issue is exclusively an internal affair of China, and any external interference is inadmissible,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said during his address to mark the 110th anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution.
The leader warned against underestimating the Chinese people’s “firm determination, unshakable will and significant ability” to defend state sovereignty and territorial integrity, adding that the historic task to complete reunification of the homeland must and will certainly be fulfilled,” Sputnik reported.
“People should not underestimate Chinese people’s determination to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity. The task of complete reunification of China must be achieved, and it will definitely be achieved,” he added.
Over a four-day period beginning last Friday (October 1), Taiwan said that nearly 150 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) military aircraft entered its air defense identification zone (ADIZ), part of a pattern of what Taipei calls Beijing’s continued harassment of the nation, reported Taipei Times.
Military tensions with China are at their worst in more than 40 years, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng said on Thursday, days after record numbers of incursions by Chinese aircraft into Taiwan.
Meanwhile, the United States has extended support to Taiwan and called on China to cease provocative actions.
At a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator William Tseng asked Chiu about current military tensions with China, reported Taipei Times.
China has the ability to invade Taiwan and its military would have the capability of mounting a “full scale” invasion by 2025, Chiu said. Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.
Taipei, on the other hand, has countered the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing. China has threatened that “Taiwan’s independence” means war.
On June 1, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to complete reunification with self-ruled Taiwan and vowed to smash any attempts at formal independence for the island. (ANI)
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