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Taiwan’s Defence Minister warned that Chinese President Xi Jinping could use force and is preparing to pressure the island nation to accept its sovereignty claims.
What Happened: Chiu Kuo Cheng, on Monday, said that Taipei has to be on alert this year for a “sudden entry” by the Chinese army into areas close to its territory as tensions across the Taiwan Strait mount, reported Reuters.
Cheng said the Chinese military might make a “sudden entry” into Taipei’s contiguous zone and get close to its territorial space.
“(I) specifically make these comments this year, meaning they are making such preparations,” Chiu said, adding, “Looking forward, they would use force if they really have to.”
Chiu added that Beijing is looking to “make trouble under a certain pretext,” which might include visits made to the self-governed nation by foreign senior party officials or Taiwan’s frequent military contacts with other countries.
These comments from Chiu came at a time when Xi’s government has been ramping up military and political pressure to try and get Taipei to accept Beijing’s sovereignty, including staging war games near the island and warplanes into Taiwan’s air defense zone.
Last week, Taiwan reported large-scale Chinese air force incursions for two days in a row into its air defense identification zone.
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Image and article originally from www.benzinga.com. Read the original article here.