China has increased tensions with Taiwan by stepping up military activities and declaring that ‘independence means war’ in spite of US pledges to support Southeast Asian countries.
Taiwan has been claimed by China as one of its territories, but recently Beijing has deployed fighter jets and bombers into the island’s airspace.
China believes Taiwan’s democratically-elected government is moving the island towards formal declaration of independence, but Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen has repeatedly said that the island is already an independent nation.
Additionally, the new Biden administration has made it clear it will not deviate from the firm security stance towards China that it inherited from ex-president Donald Trump.
In multiple calls and statements, Biden and his top officials have made clear their support for their Asian allies, with Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines all receiving assurances the US will reject China’s disputed territorial claims.
Despite this, Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said during a monthly news briefing that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China.
As tensions continue to grow between Taiwan and China, Beijing has warned the island’s government that ‘independence means war’ amid increased number of military drills. Pictured: A detonation set off during a Taiwan naval drill on January 27, 2021, demonstrating their preparedness to protect their territory from invasion
Over the weekend, China deployed fighter jets into Taiwan airspace twice in two days in response to the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier sailing into the disputed South China Sea. Pictured: Taiwan Navy special forces take part in counter-infiltration operations during a drill on January 27, 2021
He said: ‘The military activities carried out by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in the Taiwan Strait are necessary actions to address the current security situation in the Taiwan Strait and to safeguard national sovereignty and security.
‘They are a solemn response to external interference and provocations by ‘Taiwan independence’ forces.’
Wu Qian also said that there are only a ‘handful’ of people in Taiwan that are seeking independence from China for the island.
To those people, he warned: ‘Those who play with fire will burn themselves, and ‘Taiwan independence’ means war.’
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said China should think carefully and not underestimate the island’s determination to defend its sovereignty and uphold freedom and democracy.
Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said that there are only a ‘handful’ of people in Taiwan that are seeking independence from China for the island. Pictured: One of Taiwan’s IDF fighter jets takes to the sky during an air force drill over Tainan city on January 26, 2021, two days after China flew their own fighter jets into Taiwan air space
China believes Taiwan’s democratically-elected government is moving the island towards formal declaration of independence, but Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen has repeatedly said that the island is already an independent nation. Pictured: Taiwan’s pro-independence signs hang on the wall of a shop in Taipei, Taiwan, on April 2, 2020
It comes after China deployed 15 fighter jets into Taiwan airspace for the second time in two days.
According to Taiwan’s Defense Ministry, the Chinese air force flew 15 military aircraft into Taiwan on Sunday.
The day before, a number of fighter jets and bombers had also been sent into Taiwan airspace.
In response to the Chinese aircraft, Taiwan deployed fighters and air defense systems as well as broadcasting warning messages over the radio.
It is believed the movements of the Chinese aircraft was a chilling message directed at Joe Biden, with the new President only having been in office a few days and the de-facto Taiwan ambassador being invited to Biden’s inauguration.
China has not commented on what its air force has been doing over the weekend.
A spokesperson for the State Department said: ‘We urge Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic, and economic pressure against Taiwan and instead engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan’s democratically elected representatives.’
For years, China refrained from deploying aircraft in Taiwan’s south-west air defense identification zone, despite having the right to do so as the areas are not recognized by international law.
After only one week in office, US President Joe Biden has sent clear warnings to Beijing against any expansionist intentions in East and Southeast Asia.
In multiple calls and statements, he and his top security officials have underscored support for allies Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines, signalling Washington’s rejection of China’s disputed territorial claims in those areas.
China deployed 15 fighter jets into Taiwan airspace for the second time in two days over the weekend, in what could be one of the earliest tests for Joe Biden’s administration. Pictured: File image of Chinese J15 on April 23, 2018
On Wednesday, Biden told Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga that his administration is committed to defending Japan, including the Senkaku Islands, which are claimed both by Japan and China, which calls them the Diaoyu Islands.
That stance was echoed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who told Japanese counterpart Nobuo Kishi on Saturday that the contested islands were covered by the US-Japan Security Treaty.
On Saturday, a US aircraft carrier entered the South China Sea in what the Pentagon called a voyage to ‘ensure freedom of the seas’ but Beijing said was an effort by Washington to ‘flex its muscles’ in the region.
The USS Theodore Roosevelt sailed into the disputed waters with its carrier strike group on Saturday, with US military saying the warships would be carrying out ‘routine operations’ to ensure freedom of navigation and reassure US allies.
But China’s foreign ministry today bemoaned the deployment and said it was ‘not conducive to peace and stability in the region’.
The USS Theodore Roosevelt (pictured) sailed into the disputed waters of the South China Sea with its carrier strike group on Saturday to carry out ‘routine operations’ and reassure its allies in the region, the US military said
The US has accused China of trying to build a ‘maritime empire’ with militarized artificial islands in the region, with one analyst saying that the patrol was a sign that the new Biden administration ‘cannot show weakness in foreign policy’.
It also comes amid US concerns over tensions between China and Taiwan, which both claim parts of the waterway along with Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei.
The strike group entered the waters on the same day that Taiwan reported an incursion of Chinese bombers and fighter jets into its air defense zone.
The Theodore Roosevelt was accompanied by the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill, and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Russell and USS John Finn.
The Pentagon said the strike group was carrying out routine operations ‘to ensure freedom of the seas, build partnerships that foster maritime security’.
The South China Sea has a number of disputed claims, including those made by China
Rear-admiral Doug Verissimo lauded the mission as an effort to ‘reassure allies and partners’ and promote freedom of navigation in the region.
‘After sailing through these waters throughout my 30-year career, it’s great to be in the South China Sea again,’ he said.
‘With two-thirds of the world’s trade travelling through this very important region, it is vital that we maintain our presence and continue to promote the rules-based order which has allowed us all to prosper.’
‘It’s business as usual for strategic competition,’ said Renato de Castro, a defence expert at Manila’s De La Salle University, adding the patrol was ‘both reassuring and concerning’.
‘The Biden administration cannot show weakness in foreign policy,’ he added.
This map shows China’s territorial claim in the South China Sea (in red), which the US rejects. Marked in blue are US bases in Okinawa off Japan and in Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory, and Sembawang wharf in Singapore where Britain’s Royal Navy maintains a small presence. Marked in red are three naval bases in South China belonging to the People’s Liberation Army
The Trump and Obama administrations also carried out regular patrols to challenge China’s ‘nine-dash line’ claim to jurisdiction over almost the entire South China Sea.
Beijing has complained about US vessels in the South China Sea close to islands it controls, claims, or constructed and turned into military installations.
Chinese coastguard and survey vessels were repeatedly tracked in 2020 near energy exploration in offshore plots operated by Malaysia and Vietnam.
But Southeast Asian countries, while largely welcoming the US presence, fear that escalating tensions could lead to military confrontation, with potential for trade disruptions that would wreck their economies.
Biden’s nominee for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, told a confirmation hearing last week there was ‘no doubt’ China posed the most significant challenge to the US.
US President Joe Biden told Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga (pictured) that his administration is committed to defending Japan, including the Senkaku Islands, which are claimed both by Japan and China
China has repeatedly complained about US Navy ships getting close to Chinese-occupied islands in the sea, which sees trillions of dollars worth of trade every year.
China has not commented on what its air force was doing in Taiwan’s airspace, and foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian referred questions to the defense ministry.
He reiterated China’s position that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China and that the United States should abide by the ‘one China’ principle.
Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen visited a radar base in the north of the island on Monday, and praised its ability to track Chinese forces, her office said.
‘From last year until now, our radar station has detected nearly 2,000 communist aircraft and more than 400 communist ships, allowing us to quickly monitor and drive them away, and fully guard the sea and airspace,’ she told officers.
In his first overseas contacts after taking office, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (pictured) included not only Japan but also counterparts in Australia, South Korea and India
Biden’s new administration says the US commitment to Taiwan is ‘rock-solid’.
The US, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan but is the island’s most important international backer and main arms supplier.
And Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his Philippine counterpart on Wednesday that a mutual defense treaty obliging the US to defend the Philippines against attack in the Pacific also applied to the disputed South China Sea, something the Obama administration did not specify.
Those comments and others sought to emphasize that the new Biden administration will not deviate from the firm security stance towards China that it inherited from ex-president Donald Trump.
The Trump administration previously raised the tone when then-secretary of state Mike Pompeo declared last July that most of Beijing’s maritime claims in the South China Sea were ‘completely unlawful.’
Just a few days into the job, US President Joe Biden (pictured) and his top security officials have underscored support for allies Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, and signaled Washington’s rejection of China’s disputed territorial claims in those areas
In his first overseas contacts after taking office, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin included not only Japan but also counterparts in Australia, South Korea and India.
In a call with Indian defense minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday, Austin observed that the two countries’ defense partnership ‘is built upon shared values and a common interest in ensuring the Indo-Pacific region remains free and open,’ said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.
A similar China-directed refrain echoed through Austin’s call with Australian defense minister Linda Reynolds on Tuesday.
Austin ’emphasized the importance of maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific, founded on existing international law and norms in a region free of malign behavior,’ Kirby said.