The Hour
Date: July 24, 2019
By: Gerry Shih, The Washington Post
In this Thursday, July 9, 2009, file photo, paramilitary police on board a truck with a banner which reads ” against ethnic separatist” in the aftermath of ethnic violence that killed 156 people in Urumqi, western China’s Xinjiang region. China says it will not “renounce the use of force” in efforts to reunify Taiwan with the mainland and vows to take all necessary military measures to defeat “separatists.” In a national defense white paper released Wednesday, July 24, China listed among its top priorities its resolve to contain “Taiwan independence” and combat what it considers separatist forces in Tibet and the far west region of Xinjiang. .Photo: Eugene Hoshiko, AP
Releasing the document on Wednesday, officials of the People's Liberation Army repeatedly warned that Beijing would be willing to deploy military force to assert its claims over Taiwan. The self-ruled island has pulled closer to the Trump administration and agreed this month to buy $2.2 billion in weapons, including M1A2T Abrams tanks and Stinger missiles.
Taiwan's incumbent Democratic Progressive Party favors declaring formal independence from China, a move that could spark confrontation in the Taiwan Strait, one of the world's most heavily militarized flash points. China's navy this month sailed its sole aircraft carrier into the strait in a show of force reminiscent of similar U.S. operations two decades ago that showcased American military dominance in Asia. [FULL STORY]
