Jan 1, 2021: Taiwan’s president has urged China to suspend its “military adventure” as tensions between the two sides have reached their highest level in years.

Since Tsai Ing-wen came to power in 2016, Beijing has stepped up military and diplomatic pressure on Taiwan, as it rejects the notion that the island is Chinese territory.

China claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its territory and has stepped up military and diplomatic pressure over the past two years to assert its sovereignty. “We must remind the Beijing authorities not to misunderstand the situation and stop the internal expansion of the ‘military adventure,'” Tsai said in her New Year’s speech on Saturday.

Chinese warplanes have historically infiltrated Taiwan’s air defense zone in recent months. Tsai added that Beijing authorities should “stop the spread of military adventures in their ranks.”

“The use of military means is absolutely not an option for resolving the differences between our two sides.”

She said that in order to reduce tensions in the region, both Taipei and Beijing must work together to find a peaceful solution to the problem, “taking care of the people’s livelihood and calming the hearts of the people.”

In his New Year’s address, Chinese President Xi Jinping declared that “the complete reunification of our motherland is the common aspiration of the people in both China and Taiwan.” After Tsai’s speech on Saturday, Zhou Fenglin, a spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing, said: “We are ready to work for a peaceful reunification. But if ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces continue to provoke and coerce, or even cross any red line, we will have to take decisive measures.”

The pursuit of independence will only throw Taiwan into a “deep chasm” and bring about “profound catastrophe”, Zhu added.

In October last year, Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense warned that military tensions with China were at an all-time high in four decades after Chinese jets entered a record number of air defense areas. Beijing has also stepped up its efforts to isolate Taiwan internationally in recent years. It views any formal declaration of Taiwan’s “independence” as provocative and has repeatedly threatened consequences for countries that support Taipei’s right to self-determination.

Beijing has urged Taiwan’s dwindling diplomatic allies to change course.

Recently, Nicaragua recognized Beijing over Taipei, and China opened its embassy in the Central American country on Friday.

In her address, Tsai also said that Taiwan would monitor the situation in Hong Kong, adding that interference in the recent legislative elections and the arrests this week of senior staff at the pro-democracy media outlet Stand News “made people worry even more about human rights and freedom of speech in Hong Kong”.

“We will hold fast to our sovereignty, uphold the values of independence and democracy, defend regional sovereignty and national security, and maintain peace and stability in the Indian Pacific region,” Tsai said.

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