After conducting significant military exercises surrounding the island in recent weeks, Beijing says it is prepared to exert every effort to pursue a peaceful "reunification" with self-governing Taiwan.
Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory, the democratically elected government of the island rejects the claims and asserts that the destiny of the 23 million residents of the island is up to them.Beijing claims it is ready to make every effort to achieve a peaceful "reunification" with self-governing Taiwan after conducting massive military drills near the island in recent weeks.
Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory, the democratically elected island government rejects the claims and maintains that the 23 million islanders are in charge of their own fate.Since Tsai Ing-wen was initially elected president in 2016, Beijing has stepped up its claim to Taiwan, branding her a "separatist" and refusing to communicate with her. It has made diplomatic efforts to isolate Taipei and hasn't completely ruled out using force to annex the island.Chinese warships have been probing the unofficial sea border as part of its growing claim of sovereignty over the Taiwan Strait, a 180 km (110 mi) wide passage separating China from the island of Taiwan.
The US has responded to the accusations with "freedom of navigation" crossings through the Taiwan Strait, despite maintaining diplomatic ties with Beijing and being committed to giving Taiwan the tools necessary to defend itself.
The destroyer USS Higgins and the Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Vancouver worked together to complete a "regular Taiwan Strait transit on September 20 (local time)… in conformity with international law," according to a statement released by the US Navy's Seventh Fleet on Wednesday.It stated that the ship had passed through a section of the Strait outside of any coastal State's territorial waters.In order to exercise international navigation rights through the Taiwan Strait, the Canadian frigate HMCS Vancouver sailed alongside a US destroyer [Handout/US Navy via AFP].
China claimed to have followed the two ships as they passed through the waterway.According to Colonel Shi Yi, spokesman for the People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theatre Command, "the troops are always on high alert, decisively combat any threats and provocations, and resolutely preserve national sovereignty and territorial integrity," official broadcaster CCTV.
The most recent joint resolution was passed a day after President Joe Biden, defying the government's long-standing "strategic ambiguity" doctrine, said once more that US soldiers would support Taiwan in the case of a Chinese attack.Following Biden's remarks, the White House reiterated that US policy toward Taiwan had not changed.
China has suggested that Taiwan may be governed using the "one nation, two systems" model that was implemented in Hong Kong following the return of Chinese control of the former British territory in 1997.The law, according to critics, "decimated" Hong Kong's liberties with thousands of arrests, pro-democracy legislators exiled or barred from office, the closure of civil society organizations, and restrictions on media freedom.
Ma stated that Taiwan may have a "social structure different from the mainland" to ensure that their way of life, including religious freedoms, were respected, but it was "under the precondition of preserving national sovereignty, security, and development interests."
According to opinion polls, the idea has almost no public support and has been rejected by all major Taiwanese political parties, especially in light of Beijing's enforcement of the national security law in Hong Kong in 2020.Beijing claims that the law has restored calm following significant protests in 2019. This claim is shared by Hong Kong's government.
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