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Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to prepare for battle on Friday, as Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-Wen called for international support to defend the island’s democracy amid renewed threats of unification from the mainland.

Xi’s comments were made during a meeting with top officials from the Central Military Commission (CMC).

“All military units must correctly understand major national security and development trends, and strengthen their sense of unexpected hardship, crisis and battle,” he said, according to the South China Morning Post.

“[China must] prepare for a comprehensive military struggle from a new starting point… Preparation for war and combat must be deepened to ensure an efficient response in times of emergency," Xi said.

The comments come just days after Xi declared that Taiwan is absolutely a part of China, encouraged unification between the two territories and reserved the right to use force to bring the self-ruled island under the mainland's control.

Tsai condemned Xi’s comments and rejected the Chinese President’s “one country, two systems” proposal, telling reporters in Taipei: “We hope that the international community takes it seriously and can voice support and help us.” If a democratic country under threat does not receive assistance, “we might have to ask which country might be next?” Tsai said.

Last March, Xi Jinping echoed the same sentiment at the National People’s Congress, where he warned Taiwan that those who wish to split China will be “doomed to fail” and will experience “the punishment of history.”

Taiwan became a self-governed island in 1949 following a bloody civil war, though it is still officially considered the Republic of China. Chinese leaders have placed regaining control of the wayward province on the agenda since the founding of the People’s Republic around 70 years ago. However, Taipei has shown no interest in being governed by Beijing’s ruling Communist Party.

China’s hostility towards the island has strengthened since Tsai and the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party triumphed the 2016 presidential elections. The mainland has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control.

Despite fears of an invasion, exacerbated by combat drills near Taiwan, SOAS University of London’s China Institute director and political scientist Steve Tsang told Newsweek last year that the PLA is unlikely to launch a military attack unless a deal is in place with the Trump administration to prevent U.S. interference.

“China does not have the capability to do it in the next five years. If they did, an invasion could lose them most of their frontline, advanced equipment and troops in the process," he said. </s> Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered the country's military to be ready for battle and prepare for military conflict, even as Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen yesterday made a call for international support to defend the island's democracy.

Mr Xi, speaking at a meeting of China's top brass, the Central Military Commission (CMC), had said last Friday that China was facing increasing risks and challenges.

"The world is facing a period of major changes never seen in a century and China is still in an important period of strategic opportunity for development," he was reported as saying.

He stressed that the military needed to deepen planning and preparations for war and battle, in order to ensure that if situations arose, it would be able to quickly and effectively deal with them, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Mr Xi's comments came just days after he remarked that China reserved the right to use force to achieve reunification with Taiwan, even as it strives to achieve this goal via peaceful means.

He had said then that reunification with the self-ruled island, which Beijing regards as a renegade province, was inevitable.

His latest comments to the CMC also come amid escalating tensions with the United States over issues including Taiwan's status and trade.

Last Friday, Xinhua reported that Mr Xi - who is also chairman of the CMC - called on the military units to "correctly understand major national security and development trends, strengthen their sense of urgency, crisis and battle, and firmly do the work of preparing for military conflict".

He also signed off on the CMC's first order of 2019 to launch the start of a year of military training.

Since Ms Tsai, who is from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, became Taiwan's President in 2016, Beijing has been increasing pressure on the self-ruled island.

It suspects that Ms Tsai wants to push for Taiwan's formal independence, which is a red line for Beijing.

Meanwhile, Ms Tsai yesterday responded to China's continued threats, calling on the international community to support and defend Taiwan's democracy and way of life.

"We hope that the international community takes it seriously, and can voice support and help us," Reuters reported Ms Tsai as saying, as she addressed China's threats to use force to bring Taiwan under its control.

Yesterday, the South China Morning Post reported that Ms Tsai was asked if her administration would want talks with Beijing.

She responded by saying Taiwan did not oppose talks, but Beijing must "move towards democracy, protect human rights and renounce the use of force against us".

Shanghai-based military expert Ni Lexiong told The Sunday Times that Mr Xi's speech to the CMC was another clear sign to Taiwan of Beijing's firm position on the issue of reunification.

"This is an important moment and China wants to show that its attitude is firm and clear," said Mr Ni.

Beijing-based security analyst of Beihang University, Professor Wang Xiangsui, noted that since assuming the chairmanship of the CMC in 2012, President Xi had made repeated orders for the People's Liberation Army to raise its combat-readiness.

This was a response against the increasing security challenges facing China, including the United States' view of the country as a strategic competitor and the goal of reunification of the country.

He noted that Taiwan still thinks it can resist reunification with military force and has been buying military equipment to maintain the balance with China.

"So (for Mr Xi) to give these commands to the military, is a natural response to these challenges posed by Taiwan," said Prof Wang. </s> Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen called on Saturday for international support to defend the self-ruled island's democracy and way of life in the face of renewed threats from China.

The comments came a day after Chinese President Xi Jinping said the country's armed forces must strengthen their sense of urgency and do everything they can to prepare for battle.

"We hope that the international community takes it seriously and can voice support and help us," Tsai told reporters in Taipei, referring to threats by China to use force to bring Taiwan under its control.

If the international community did not support a democratic country that was under threat, "We might have to ask which country might be next?" Tsai added.

Taiwan is China's most sensitive issue and is claimed by Beijing as its sacred territory. Xi has stepped up pressure on the democratic island since Tsai from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party became president in 2016.

President Xi said on Wednesday that China reserves the right to use force to bring Taiwan under its control but will strive to achieve peaceful "reunification" with the island.

In response, Tsai has said the island would not accept a "one country, two systems" political arrangement with China, while stressing all negotiations needed to be carried out on a government-to-government basis.

Xi's Taiwan speech came just days after US President Donald Trump signed the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act into law, reaffirming the US commitment to the island's security.

Tsai on Saturday also urged China to have a "correct understanding" of what Taiwanese think and said actions such as political bullying were unhelpful in cross-strait relations.

China still sees Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified, despite the two sides being ruled separately since they split in 1949 after a civil war.

China is eager to beef up its armed forces amid territorial disputes in the South China Sea and escalating tension with the United States over issues ranging from trade to the status of Taiwan.

The official Xinhua news agency said on Saturday Xi told a meeting of the top military brass that China faced increasing risks and challenges, and the armed forces must work to secure its security and development needs.

Xi, who is also chairman of the Central Military Commission, said the armed forces must devise strategies for the new era and take on responsibilities for preparing and waging war.

"The world is facing a period of major changes never seen in a century, and China is still in an important period of strategic opportunity for development," he was quoted as saying.

He said the armed forces needed to be able to respond quickly to emergencies, needed to upgrade their joint operations capabilities, and nurture new types of combat forces. </s> China was scheduled to hold live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait Wednesday, flexing its military muscle after warning Taipei about seeking independence or closer ties with Washington.

It is the first such exercise in the waterway since 2016, and it coincides with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s visit to Swaziland, one of the self-ruled island’s few remaining international allies.

The Chinese government has given scant details about the manoeuvres, with a Fujian province maritime safety administration statement merely saying last week that the day-long drills would start at 8:00 am (0000 GMT).

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office director Liu Jieyi said Monday the drill was “an action to safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our motherland”.

As she left for Africa on Tuesday, Tsai said Taiwan has “the confidence and determination to safeguard the country’s security”.

Relations between Beijing and Taipei have deteriorated since Tsai came to office in May 2016, largely because she has not embraced the position that Taiwan and China are part of one country.

China sees the island as a renegade part of its territory to be brought back into the fold and has not ruled out reunification by force.

“It is likely that these drills were planned months ago, but they are a useful warning to Taiwan and the US to not cross Chinese red lines,” Bonnie Glaser, China expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, told AFP.

Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is traditionally pro-independence and her newly appointed premier William Lai is a long-standing independence advocate.

After the Communist Party-led parliament paved the way for Xi Jinping to rule for life, the Chinese president warned on March 20 that “all acts and tricks to separate the country are doomed to fail”.

That same day, China’s sole operational aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, sailed through the Taiwan Strait.

“The mainland must create military pressure to let the other side know that no matter whether it happens gradually or they really declare independence, it is totally unacceptable,” Song Zhongping, military commentator for Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV, told AFP.

Song, a former lecturer at a People’s Liberation Army university, said the Liaoning is likely to participate in Wednesday’s drill, as it “has a lot of advantages for resolving the Taiwan problem.”

“It can effectively acquire control of the airspace, and even effectively block the US-Japanese alliance’s strategy for intervening in China’s plan to settle the Taiwan issue,” he said.

A flotilla including the Liaoning has conducted combat training in the South China Sea in the past few days, the navy said on Tuesday.

Beijing has stepped up military patrols around Taiwan and used diplomatic pressure to isolate Taiwan internationally since Tsai took office, with Panama switching allegiance to China last year.

The drill “is part of Beijing’s psychological warfare against Taiwan, and possibly a means to divert attention from Tsai’s visit abroad by compelling media to report on the military drills,” said J. Michael Cole, a Taipei-based senior fellow at the University of Nottingham’s China Policy Institute.

The planned drill could also serve as a signal to Washington, which sent an aircraft carrier through the disputed South China Sea last week.

Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979 but maintains trade relations with the island and is its main arms supplier.

Beijing protested last month after President Donald Trump signed a bill allowing top-level US officials to travel to Taiwan.

China said the US should stop official exchanges with Taiwan to avoid “damaging Sino-US relations”. </s> President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan responded vigorously to a speech this week by Chinese Communist Party chief Xi Jinping announcing that China would no longer tolerate Taiwan’s sovereignty, urging Xi to “bravely move towards democracy” and “face the reality of the existence of the Republic of China.”

In his speech on Tuesday, Xi called Taiwanese independence a “dead end” and warned that, in 2019, China would no longer accept the status quo.

“We make no promise to abandon the use of force, and retain the option of taking all necessary measures,” he warned.

Tsai, speaking on Wednesday, responded by lamenting that China has consistently rejected the democratic values that, according to her, define the national identity of Taiwan and condemned China for spending much of 2018 attempting to bribe Taiwan’s allies away from recognizing the nation’s sovereignty.

“Democratic values are the values and way of life that Taiwanese cherish, and we call upon China to bravely move towards democracy,” Tsai declared. “This is the only way they can truly understand Taiwanese people’s ideas and commitments.”

Tsai called on China to “face the reality of the existence of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and not deny the democratic system that the people of Taiwan have established together.” She insisted that Taiwan “absolutely will not accept ‘one country, two systems,'” the policy in place for Hong Kong, which nominally allows Hong Kong to remain democratic but technically deprives it of sovereignty. Xi’s regime has increasingly crippled Hong Kong’s ability to govern itself under “one country, two systems” by banning political candidates anathema to the Communist Party’s interest from running for office.

Tsai also implied that China’s behavior towards Taiwan, particularly since she took over as president in 2016, had brought it international embarrassment. “I want to remind the Beijing authorities that a superpower must act with the demeanor and take the responsibility of a superpower,” she noted, “and international society is watching China to see if it can make changes and become a trustworthy partner.”

“Pressuring international corporations to change their designation for Taiwan won’t bring about a spiritual union, nor will buying off Taiwan’s diplomatic allies or circling Taiwan with military aircraft and naval vessels,” Tsai concluded.

The latter remark referred to China’s policy of using “sharp power,” or economic intimidation, to force international corporations to accept its worldview. Throughout 2018, companies such as Ikea, American Airlines, and Marriott faced the brunt of “sharp power,” forced to choose between identifying Taiwan as a country in their legal papers, websites, and drop-down menus or losing access to the massive Chinese market. Three major airlines in the United States ultimately changed their fight booking options to stop identifying Taiwan as a country even as the U.S. government dismissed China’s bullying as “nonsense” and urged them not to do so. Marriott, in one notable instance, fired a social media manager for “liking” a Twitter post by a group called “Friends of Tibet,” which opposes communism.

China has also used its “Belt and Road” initiative (BRI, or One Belt, One Road) to offer high-interest loans to nations that maintain friendly relations with Taiwan, notably in Latin America. Nations like the Dominican Republic and El Salvador announced last year they no longer recognized Taiwan’s sovereignty after lucrative business meetings with Beijing’s representatives. An enraged Tsai warned the world in August that China’s “increasingly out of control” behavior was “not only a threat to cross-strait peace … [but] caused high levels of global instability.”

Tsai’s speech on Wednesday followed new year’s remarks from Xi Jinping warning that 2019 would be the last year China would tolerate Taiwan’s existence.

“Reunification is a historical trend and it is the right path. Taiwan independence is an adverse current of history and is a dead end,” Xi announced. “The issue of Taiwan is part of China’s domestic politics. It is a core interest of China, and the … feelings of the Chinese people, and foreign interference is intolerable.”

He added that Chinese officials “make no promise to abandon the use of force” to end Taiwan’s independence.

Asked about the aggressive remarks on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang claimed to reporters that Xi was not speaking for China, but for the world.

Xi “made it very clear in his speech that adherence to the one-China principle is a consensus shared by the international community,” Lu said. “The international community generally understands and supports the just cause of the Chinese people in opposing ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist activities and realizing national reunification.”

“We make no promise to renounce the use of force. This does not target compatriots in Taiwan, but the interference of external forces and the very small number of ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists and their activities,” he added, likely alluding to the United States as an “external force” against Beijing’s interests on the matter.

The threat of use of force is not new for Xi’s regime. In October, Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe said during remarks to the press that “if someone tries to separate out Taiwan, China’s military will take the necessary actions at any cost.” Two months later, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) reportedly deployed a significantly larger fleet of naval vessels to the Taiwan Strait, presumably to surround Taiwan’s military and intimidate U.S. ships in the area. The Chinese Foreign Ministry argued this was necessary because a U.S. Navy ship had traveled through the sovereign Vietnamese waters in the South China Sea, which China has illegally claimed for itself. </s> President Xi Jinping is in Hong Kong to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the handover of the former British Colony to China.

Xi inspected troops today during a stop at the People's Liberation Army garrison in the New Territories where he rode an open-top jeep and saluted soldiers.

Armoured personnel carriers, combat vehicles, helicopters and other pieces of military hardware were arrayed behind the troops.

President Xi called out 'Salute all the comrades' and 'Salute to your dedication' as he rode past 3,100 soldiers arranged in formations.

The President is also Chairman of the army and the troops referred to him as Chairman when saluting.

The inspection today was a rare display of the Chinese military's presence in Hong Kong.

Armoured personnel carriers, combat vehicles, helicopters and other pieces of military hardware were arrayed behind the troops.

Xi is in Hong Kong to mark the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China on July 1, 1997.

Hong Kong is a special administrative region and runs its affairs under the 'one country, two systems' principle. However Beijing is in charge of the city's defense and foreign affairs. The troops in the city are deployed from mainland China.

Hong Kongers have much more freedom thanks to the 'one country, two systems' principle allowing the region to have its own legal system, freedom of assembly and free speech.

Because of this, many young people in Hong Kong are concerned about the future of the region.

Security has been tight for President Xi's visit as locals vowed to protest. Parts of the region are in lockdown with several areas closed to the public.

Some 26 people including young activist leader Joshua Wong have been released on bail after being arrested for protesting on June 28. The activists climbed onto a giant flower sculpture that was a gift from Beijing and is close to the hotel complex where Xi is staying.

President Xi will also swear in new Chief Executive Carrie Lam before heading back to Beijing on June 1. </s> Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing Wen has said her country’s air force will conduct a “forceful expulsion” of any Chinese military aircraft that cross the so-called “Median Line” in the Taiwan Strait, which serves as de facto boundary between it and the People’s Republic of China. This comes a day after two Chinese J-11 fighter jets violated the line, prompting Taiwanese jets to scramble in response and eliciting a particularly condemnation from Taipei. This initial incident also followed reports that the United States was preparing to sell advanced F-16 Viper fighter jets to Taiwan, where Beijing has long said it draws a “red line,” and a significant increase in American naval patrols through the Taiwan Strait. Tsai’s announcement first appeared in a post on her official Facebook page on April 1, 2019. The day before, the pair of Chinese J-11 fighter jets had crossed the median line and remained there for approximately 10 minutes, before returning to the other side. Chinese violations of the Median Line are not uncommon, but in the past, the aircraft have typically withdrawn quickly. Though Taiwan sent unspecified fighter jets out to meet the J-11s, it's unclear whether the two actually came within visual distance of each other.

This follows months of increasingly aggressive Chinese aerial activity around Taiwan, which is clearly meant to demonstrate the capabilities of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) in any future cross-strait skirmish. In May 2018, PLAAF fighter jets and H-6 bombers had notably flown a route that effectively encircled the island, showing its ability to attack from virtually any direction, something that had not necessarily been the case in the past. Beijing “should stop behavior of this sort, which endangers regional peace, and not be an international troublemaker,” Huang Chung Yen, a spokesperson for the Taiwanese president, had said after the boundary line incursion on Mar. 31, 2019, according to Reuters. President Tsai had ordered the country’s military “to complete all tasks on war preparation,” he added.

It’s not entirely clear from Tsai’s statement exactly what measures the Taiwanese Air Force will take in the future to eject Chinese aircraft that cross the Median Line. It certainly means that its combat jets will intercept any incoming planes and demand that they leave immediately, but what amount of “force” Taiwan’s pilots might use to ensure compliance with those instructions remains to be seen. The danger, especially with not knowing the exact extent of Taiwan’s new policy, is that miscommunication or miscalculation in a future incident might quickly lead to a larger cross-strait skirmish. Regardless, Tsai’s statement is a significant escalation in rhetoric and it's hard to see how it won't elicit a fiery response from the government in Beijing. So far, however, China’s Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry had declined to comment on the breach of the Median Line and the response from Tsai and other Taiwanese authorities. Tsai’s new threat to respond more forcefully to future Median Line violations also reflects a recent spike in tensions between the two parties, as well as between China and the United States, the latter being Taiwan’s principle international ally. After establishing diplomatic ties with China in 1979, the U.S. government broke off technical relations with authorities in Taiwan, but continues to work with officials there through other channels. The United States also reserves the right to sell weapons and other military hardware, ostensibly to bolster the Taiwanese military’s ability to defend against a Chinese intervention. However, in the past, the U.S. government has often shied away from selling Taiwan more advanced military systems that might draw particular ire from Beijing. The sale of new, or even upgraded, F-16 fighter jets to help improve the capability of the increasingly geriatric Taiwanese air force has been a particular saga, which you can read about more here. This attitude has undergone a noticeable change under U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, which has developed stronger ties with Tsai’s government.

In March 2019, reports emerged that U.S. President Donald Trump’s Administration was preparing to approve the sale of dozens of new Block 70 F-16s, one of the latest and most advanced configurations of the jet that Lockheed Martin offers. Taiwan’s acquisition of these more capable fighter jets has long been a “red line” for China and this reported deal may have been part of what prompted the PLAAF to send its J-11s across the Median Line, at least in part, in the first place. The incursion also came just days after the U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur and the U.S. Coast Guard’s Legend-class cutter USCGC Bertholf sailed through the Taiwan Strait on a so-called Freedom of Navigation patrol, or FONOP. This was the sixth such patrol in nine months, which reflects a major uptick in FONOPs through this region under Trump. There have also been reports that the Trump administration is considering sending an aircraft carrier through the Strait, which would only further heighten regional tensions. In January 2019, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) released a China Military Power report that concluded Beijing’s desire to eventually coerce Taiwan to reunify with the mainland was the “primary driver” of the country’s efforts to expand and modernize its military capabilities. This same report also specifically cited then-U.S. President Bill Clinton’s decision to send two carrier strike groups through the Taiwan Strait in 1996, a massive show of force in response to a major regional crisis at the time, as a key incident that kicked off Beijing’s efforts to rapidly increase the size and capabilities of its forces. The People’s Liberation Army has been notably focused on developing means to counter American aircraft carriers in any future crisis.

The present escalating war of words between China and Taiwan and China and the United States certainly points to a risk of another crisis similar to the one in 1996. In that instance, the inciting incident was the U.S. government’s decision to allow then-President Lee Teng Hui to speak at Cornell University, his alma mater, on “Taiwanese Democratization.” Authorities Beijing had branded Lee as an independence-minded “traitor.” The current Chinese government under President Xi Jinping has similarly labeled Tsai an “independence extremist” and China’s premier has not shied away from threatening to use force to prevent the island from formally breaking away and declaring itself an independent country. “The country is growing strong, the nation is rejuvenating and unification between the two sides of the strait is the great trend of history,” Xi said in a New Year’s address aimed square at Taiwan that he gave before a gathering in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Jan. 2, 2019. “We make no promise to abandon the use of force, and retain the option of taking all necessary measures.”

In 1996, China had responded to Lee’s talk in the United States with a series of snap military drills, including firing DF-15 short-range ballistic missiles near the Taiwanese-controlled Pengjia islet. This, in turn, led to the U.S. Navy show of force involving the two carriers. It’s not clear how a similar series of altercations might go today, and whether sailing carrier groups into the region might be enough now to defuse the situation, especially given China’s increasingly assertive stance elsewhere. Just in January 2019, Chinese forces performed a missile drill involving its relatively new DF-26 intermediate-range ballistic missiles that seemed aimed at threatening the prospect of long-range strikes on American forces in the South China Sea. In October 2018, there had also been a very dangerous encounter between People’s Liberation Army Navy and U.S. Navy warships in that hotly contested region. The video below shows Chinese personnel conducting a snap drill involving the DF-26 IRBM in January 2019. </s> HONG KONG (AP) — President Xi Jinping has inspected troops based in Hong Kong as he asserts Chinese authority over the former British colony China took control of 20 years ago.

Xi rode in an open-top jeep past rows of soldiers lined up on an airstrip on his visit Friday to the People’s Liberation Army garrison. He called out “Salute all the comrades” and “Salute to your dedication” as he rode by each of the 20 troop formations.

Armored personnel carriers, combat vehicles, helicopters and other pieces of military hardware were arrayed behind the troops.

It was a rare display of the Chinese military’s might in Hong Kong, where it normally maintains a low-key presence. </s> TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen called on Saturday for international support to defend the self-ruled island’s democracy and way of life in the face of renewed threats from China.

Tsai’s comments came days after Chinese President Xi Jinping said nobody could change the fact that Taiwan was part of China, and that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should seek “reunification”.

“We hope that the international community takes it seriously and can voice support and help us,” Tsai told reporters in Taipei, referring to threats by China to use force to bring Taiwan under its control.

If the international community did not support a democratic country that was under threat, “we might have to ask which country might be next,?” Tsai added.

Taiwan is China’s most sensitive issue and is claimed by Beijing as its sacred territory. Xi has stepped up pressure on the democratic island since Tsai from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party became president in 2016.

President Xi said on Wednesday that China reserves the right to use force to bring Taiwan under its control but will strive to achieve peaceful “reunification” with the island.

In response, Tsai has said the island would not accept a “one country, two systems” political arrangement with China, while stressing all cross-Strait negotiations needed to be carried out on a government-to-government basis.

Tsai on Saturday also urged China to have a “correct understanding” of what Taiwanese think and said actions such as political bullying were unhelpful in cross-strait relations.
Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping orders the country's armed forces to be ready for battle following President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) Tsai Ing-wen's call for international support to defend the self-ruled island’s democracy after rejecting of the one country, two systems principle.