China’s Xi Jinping issues ‘unstoppable’ Taiwan invasion threat | World | News
Chinese President Xi Jinping threatened a chilling invasion of Taiwan in his New Year’s speech to his country due to fears of a possible outbreak in World War III.
“Citizens on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are connected by ties of blood tighter than water, and the historical trend towards national reunification cannot be stopped,” he said in a speech broadcast by state broadcaster CCTV.
The coast guard said Taiwan kept its emergency maritime response center operational while monitoring Chinese naval maneuvers. The drills, called Justice Mission 2025, involved China firing dozens of rockets at Taiwan and deploying scores of warships and aircraft around the island in a show of military might that alarmed Western allies.
Taipei condemned the drills as a serious threat to regional stability and a blatant act of provocation. Meanwhile, Chinese ships were beginning to withdraw from the waters around Taiwan, although Beijing had yet to officially announce the conclusion of the drills, according to Kuan Bi-ling, chairman of Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council.
“The maritime situation has calmed down with ships and boats gradually leaving. The emergency response center continues to operate as China has not announced the end of military exercises,” he said in a Facebook post dated Dec. 30.
A Taiwanese coast guard official told Reuters that all 11 Chinese coast guard ships have left waters near Taiwan and continue to drift away. Emergency response centers for both the military and coast guard remain operational, a separate security official said.
