China takes tougher tone on Taiwan, announces military drills

Chinese President Xi Jinping

China's no. 4 official unveiled stronger language toward Taiwan that signaled greater efforts ahead to intimidate the self-ruled democracy, as Beijing announced military exercises near the island.

Wang Huning, who oversees Taiwan affairs for China, urged his nation to "shape the inevitable reunification of the motherland" at a meeting in Beijing on the self-ruled democracy, according to a Wednesday report from the official Xinhua News Agency. It marked the first time that phrase had been used by the government in Beijing, which has never ruled the archipelago of 23 million people.

President Xi Jinping has previously declared China's unification with Taiwan "can without a doubt be realized", but the new language on molding that process suggests Beijing will take a more proactive approach. Chinese state media outlets highlighted the call to “shape the inevitable” when reposting the readout of the conference, with the People’s Daily making it into a hashtag on social media.

There are no signs Xi plans to invade Taiwan anytime soon, as China’s economy grapples with a slowdown and the People’s Liberation Army reels from corruption probes. But the Communist Party could intensify efforts to peel off the island’s last 12 diplomatic partners and ramp up its military activity around Taiwan.

Illustrating those pressures, the Defense Ministry in Taipei said China announced Wednesday that it would conduct military drills about 40 nautical miles off the southern coast of Taiwan’s main island, without specifying exactly when. Such maneuvers would pose a danger to airplanes and ships in the area, the ministry said in a statement, adding that the exercises hurt the region’s stability.

The drills come after Taiwan detained a freighter and its crew that included Chinese nationals because a key cable to an offshore outpost was severed. Taiwanese authorities have opened an inquiry into whether sabotage was involved.

China has accused Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party of 'hyping up' the affair. "There are hundreds of incidents involving undersea cables globally every year," Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman for the Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing, said at a regular briefing. "They’re common maritime accidents."

Wang, a member of China’s powerful, seven-man Standing Committee, also said in his speech that Beijing “must resolutely oppose and curb external interference” related to Taiwan, comments aimed at least in part at the US, which backs Taiwan diplomatically and militarily.

The State Department this month deleted a phrase from a fact sheet that said the US does "not support Taiwan independence". Taipei praised that move while China condemned it. The US later said it was committed to peace in the region but the wording change remained.

While President Donald Trump has stacked his administration with China hawks, his own comments have cast doubt over Washington’s commitment to Taiwan. The Republican has called on Taipei to pay the US for security, and has weakened support for defending Ukraine from Russia raising questions about how his administration would respond to greater Chinese aggression.

The Communist Party should "consolidate the international community's adherence to the one-China principle," Wang said at the event in Beijing. That was a reference to Beijing’s stance there is only one nation known as 'China', which the government in Beijing leads, and of which Taiwan is a part. China frequently asks nations it has diplomatic ties with to reiterate its principle.

Taiwan’s ruling party counters that Taiwan is a de facto nation deserving broader recognition.

China’s shift in language reflects a "more confident and a more patient China", according to Wen-Ti Sung, a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub. "China believes that strategically time is back on Beijing’s side again,"  he added.