Amy Hawkins and Helen Davidson
China’s president, Xi Jinping, has vowed to reunify China and Taiwan in his annual New Year’s Eve speech in Beijing.
Speaking the day after the conclusion of intense Chinese military drills around Taiwan, Xi said: “The reunification of our motherland, a trend of the times, is unstoppable.”
China claims Taiwan, a self-governing island, as part of its territory and has long vowed to annex it, using force if necessary.
US intelligence is increasingly concerned about the advancing capabilities of China’s armed forces to launch such an attack if Xi decides the time is right.
On Monday and Tuesday, China’s People’s Liberation Army launched live-fire military drills around Taiwan, simulating a blockade of main ports and sending its navy, air force, rocket force and coastguard to encircle Taiwan’s main island. The drills, called “Justice Mission 2025”, came closer to Taiwan than previous exercises, and involved at least 200 warplanes across the two days, the highest tally for more than a year. Taiwan said 27 missiles were also fired towards Taiwan, with several landing within 27 nautical miles of its coastline.
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