China’s ambassador to the United States warned that Taiwan’s continued desire for independence would “most likely” involve a “military conflict.”
Qin Gang, the Chinese ambassador, described “the Taiwan issue” as “the biggest tinderbox between” the U.S. and China during a Friday appearance on NPR.
The Chinese government maintains that Taiwan is a part of the mainland, while the Taiwanese claim their independence and have their own government. The U.S. has not recognized Taiwan’s independence, though it has provided support to prevent a Chinese attack.
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“If, you know, the Taiwanese authorities, emboldened by the United States, you know, keep going down the road for independence, it most likely will involve China and the United States, the two big countries, in a military conflict,” he said. China “will not commit to giving up the unpeaceful means for reunification because this is a deterrence,” Qin added.
Qin’s comments come days after the Chinese air force flew roughly 40 military planes into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, the largest platoon to do so dating back to October.
China’s more aggressive approach to Taiwan has been accompanied by its military’s efforts to develop and improve its war arsenal. It has accelerated the pace of its nuclear expansion program to the point where it could “have up to 700 deliverable nuclear warheads” within roughly five years, according to the Defense Department’s “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China” report, released at the beginning of November.
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The Pentagon has repeatedly described China as the U.S. military’s “pacing challenge,” and it is planning for a possible conflict.
“The PRC is the Department of Defense’s pacing challenge and a Taiwan contingency is the pacing scenario,” Assistant Secretary of Defense Ely Ratner, the lead Pentagon official for the Indo-Pacific, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in a hearing last month. “We are modernizing our capabilities, updating U.S. force posture, and developing new operational concepts accordingly.”
