China Asserts Unyielding Stance on Taiwan to U.S. Ahead of Island’s Elections: ‘Never Compromise’ Declaration Echoes Geopolitical Tensions
The status of the self-ruling democracy was among the topics discussed at U.S.-China talks held in Washington as the two countries try to restore military ties.
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Days before Taiwan’s presidential election, which would determine Taiwan’s relationship with China and that of China and the United States of America, Taiwan’s main foreign sponsor, took place, the negotiations took place on the self-governing island democracy.
One of the most delicate topics between the United States and China—whose relationship has just reached a low point in decades—is China’s declared desire to “reunify” with Taiwan, by force if necessary.
According to a readout released by the Chinese Defense Ministry on Wednesday, China declared that it would “not make any concession or compromise on the Taiwan question and demanded that the U.S. side abide by the one-China principle, honor relevant commitments, stop arming Taiwan, and not support Taiwan independence.”
For the first time since 2021, the 17th round of the defense policy coordination talks between the United States and China took place on Monday and Tuesday. Leading them were Major General Song Yanchao, the deputy head of China’s Central Military Commission Office for International Military Cooperation, and Michael Chase, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia.
According to a Pentagon readout, Chase “highlighted the importance of maintaining open lines of military-to-military communication in order to prevent competition from veering into conflict.”
He also reiterated Washington’s commitment to its longstanding “One China” policy, under which the U.S. recognizes Beijing as the sole legitimate government of China but maintains unofficial relations with Taipei.
China declared that it was open to forging a military alliance “based on equality and respect” that would be “healthy and stable.” In the South China Sea, a strategically significant waterway that China claims almost entirely, it was advised that the United States lessen its military presence and “provocation” and “stop supporting provocative actions” by specific nations, without naming them.
The Pentagon said Chase “underscored the importance of respect for high seas freedom of navigation” in the face of continued Chinese “harassment” of Philippine vessels operating lawfully in the South China Sea.
President Joe Biden and Chinese Xi Jinping agreed to resume military ties at a meeting in San Francisco in November, their first encounter in a year. China had cut off military communications in 2022 after Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the House Speaker at the time, visited Taiwan over its objections.
China has since increased its military activities in the Taiwan Strait, sending warplanes and naval vessels toward the island almost daily.
The talks at the Pentagon this week follow a video call last month between Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his Chinese counterpart Gen. Liu Zhenli, the first high-level conversation between the two militaries in more than a year.
Taiwan, which disputes Beijing’s claims to its sovereignty, is bracing itself for its election this coming Saturday. Authorities on the island have said that China is trying to sway the outcome of elections by using its armed forces and other actions in the Taiwan Strait, such as the balloons that have been seen all over the place since last month.
Tuesday, the defense ministry of the island
China claims that in order to win support from voters, Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party has been “hyping up the threat from the mainland” in the run-up to the election. The defense ministry refuted claims made by Taiwan’s biggest opposition party, the Kuomintang, that the government issued the alarm on Tuesday for political purposes.
As stated in a post on the Chinese social media site Weibo, the satellite known as Einstein Probe would be used to track “fleeting phenomena” in space, such as the merging of black holes.