Chinese president Xi Jinping’s assertion that Taiwan’s reunification with mainland China is ‘inevitable’ and his warning against any effort to promote the island’s independence are signs that he still covets the prosperous and pro-capitalist neighbouring territory that once formed part of the mainland. His warning that it would not renounce the option of using military force to bring Taiwan into its fold is a reiteration that the US and its allies need to keep off what China regards as its own territory. Xi was speaking at an event commemorating the 40th anniversary of a message sent to Taiwan in 1979 in which it called for reunification and an end to military confrontation. Xi described reunification under a ‘one country, two systems’ approach that would safeguard the interests and well-being of Taiwanese compatriots.
Last year, under President Trump’s term of office, the US had sent multiple ships through the Taiwan Straits which China considers its territory but the US and its allies see as international waters open to all. This had caused a lot of heartburn in Beijing. On the eve of New Year, the US had also declared that it would step up its presence in the Indo-Pacific and had hinted at using India as a counterpoise to China in the region. Evidently, Xi and Trump are gearing up for confrontation over Taiwan in which the US sees a role for India. Washington also remains Taipei’s most powerful unofficial ally and its main arms supplier. The new Taiwanese president, Tsai Ing-wen, has refused to accept Beijing’s stance that the island is part of ‘one-China’. He warned recently that the Taiwanese people would never give up the kind of freedom they enjoy being out of authoritarian China. All this has set the stage for a confrontation if China does not relent.