China-Taiwan conflict: Beijing warns US of 'military conflict'

The island nation of Taiwan is a point of contention between China and the US, as Washington has ramped up support for the island and its democratic government. The Chinese ambassador to the US recently warned US President Joe Biden of military conflict, should Washington continue to support Taiwan’s independence and democracy.

China’s ambassador to the US Qin Gang issued a warning to the US leader over Taiwan. Qin said that should the Taiwanese government continue to feel empowered by Washington, then China and the US may get into a military conflict. Qin added that Beijing is within its rights to reclaim Taiwan, even through military force if necessary.

“If the Taiwanese authorities, emboldened by the United States, 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,” said Qin.

“Let me emphasize this, the Taiwan issue is the biggest tinderbox between China and the United States,” Qin continued. Despite the warning of military conflict, Qin reiterated that Beijing does not want to attack the island nation and is determined to have a peaceful reunification.

Qin went on to attack the Taiwanese government officials, accusing Taipei of trying to seek independence by ‘borrowing” the support of Washington and that the US is using Taiwan to “contain” China.

China regards Taiwan as a breakaway province and Beijing has vowed to reunite the island nation with the mainland. Taiwan has since resisted the pressure campaign brought on by Beijing through numerous incursions into its airspace and military drills close to the island.

Recently, Taipei was angered by the meeting between Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin that took place hours before the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Winter Olympics. During the meeting, it was revealed that Xi and Putin agreed on supporting each other in the current conflicts over the island nation as well as the conflict surrounding Ukraine.

Russia also voiced its support for China’s stance regarding Taiwan.

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry criticized the meeting, saying that it brought shame to the spirit of the major sporting event. The ministry released a statement, saying that China’s continued claims that Taiwan is part of the mainland are the same as its habit of spreading misinformation. The ministry also accused Beijing of using the summit with Russia to “engage in the expansion of authoritarianism.”