“The more the separatists for ‘the independence of Taiwan’ will become invasive, the more the knot flowing around their necks are tightened and the more the sword above their heads will be sharp.” China, via the army spokesperson Wu Qian, launched a new warning towards the neighboring island, this Sunday, March 9, during the annual political event of the “two sessions”.
The Chinese army “is an action force to combat separatism and promoting reunification,” described the same Wu Quian. And to contact the supporters of Taiwan’s independence: “You set up your mount to the precipice of a cliff […]. If you persist in taking the wrong direction, you will meet a dead end. “
Beijing considers the island of Taiwan, endowed with its own government since 1949, as part of its territory. Still at the end of February, again through the army spokesperson, China said it did not exclude using force to regain control. These last comments come in full “two sessions”, parliamentary meetings that have gathered thousands of delegates since this week in Beijing.
It is in this context that China announced on Wednesday a 7.2 % increase in its defense budget in 2025, the same rate last year, reaching 1,784.7 billion yuan ($ 245.7 billion). Wu Qian described these military expenses as “limited”, aiming, according to him, to develop “combat forces” and improve the capacity in terms of recognition, strikes and support on theaters of operations. With the second military budget in the world, Beijing is far behind the United States. According to the International Peace Research Institute of Stockholm (SIPRI), it represented, in 2023, less than a third of American expenses on the subject.
“Common aspiration”
In recent years, Beijing has increased its military pressure and almost daily combat aircraft and warships around the island. At the end of February, the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense denounced “real fire exercises” by the Chinese army, made according to it without notice in an area located some 74 kilometers south of the island. A “routine training”, replied Wu Qian, denouncing a “media threshing” orchestrated by Taipei.
Chinese diplomacy chief Wang Yi said on Friday at a press conference that “perform the complete unification of the fatherland (was) the common aspiration of all Chinese […]. This is the general trend in history and it’s a just cause. “” To play the Taiwan card to try to counter China is like trying to put your arm to stop a train on the march, “said the minister, an apparent reference to Washington long -standing support in Taipei, a political and military.
Returning to the White House in January, US President Donald Trump remains evasive on possible support for Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, even if he was able to say on Monday that such an invasion would be “obviously a catastrophic event”.