‘Those playing with fire…’: Taiwan braces for 2027 conflict as China steps up threats
2 min read . Updated: 21 Apr 2023, 11:31 PM IST
PremiumBeijing views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and routinely denounces high-level meetings between Taiwanese and foreign leaders and officials. Taipei however strongly rejects the claim.
Taiwan is braced for an escalation of tensions with China within the next few years. Beijing's top officials warned on Friday that ‘those who play with fire would burn themselves’ - a sharp rebuke to Taiwan and its supporters. Meanwhile Taipei's Finance Minister predicted this week that 2027 would become the year to watch.
“We are taking the Chinese military threat very seriously … I think 2027 is the year that we need to be serious about," Joseph Wu said during an interaction on LBC’s Tonight with Andrew Marr.
Reports citing US intelligence indicates that Xi Jinping has ordered the country's military to be ready to annex Taiwan by 2027. Over the past decade the Chinese leader has repeatedly asserted that the issue “cannot be passed on from generation to generation".
Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Friday that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belonged to the country.
“Recently there has been absurd rhetoric accusing China of upending the status quo, disrupting peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. The logic is absurd and the conclusion dangerous," Qin said.
He added that it was “not the Chinese mainland, but the Taiwan independence separatist forces and a handful of countries" that were attempting to disrupt the status quo.
The remarks come mere weeks after China held military exercises around the self-ruled island and simulated "sealing off" the island. The three day drill followed Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen's US meeting with House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Self-ruled Taiwan has remained on high alert since then and even staged war and disaster drills recently. China claims democratic Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to take it one day, by force if necessary.
(With inputs from agencies)