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Mark Riley: Chinese ‘reunification’ of Taiwan a question of when, not if

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Mark RileyThe West Australian
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Speaking at the National Press Club, Chinese Ambassador Xiao Qian said China was prepared to use ‘all necessary means’ to ‘reunify’ with Taiwan.
Camera IconSpeaking at the National Press Club, Chinese Ambassador Xiao Qian said China was prepared to use ‘all necessary means’ to ‘reunify’ with Taiwan. Credit: MICK TSIKAS/AAPIMAGE

China’s new man in Canberra, Xiao Qian, says his country wants to “reunify” Taiwan with “the motherland” in a peaceful manner.

It sure doesn’t look that way.

Surrounding the self-governed island with warships and firing live missiles across its airspace and into Japan’s territorial waters is hardly an expression of peace.

China’s show of force in response to the visit to Taipei last week by US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is a stark warning to the world.

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If Taiwan does not accede to reunification peacefully, Beijing will take it by force.

Ambassador Xiao made this clear at the National Press Club on Wednesday by declaring China was “ready to use all necessary means” to achieve its objective.

“As to what does it mean ‘all necessary means’? You can use your imagination,” he said.

No one needed to tax their mind too deeply. It is happening in the Taiwan Strait right now.

Mr Xiao accused the US of “firing the first shot” and called Beijing’s response “legitimate” and “justified”.

It was neither. It was a provocative and threatening statement of intent.

The US sent an 82-year-old female Speaker of the House on a diplomatic visit and China sent out its warships and began live firing exercises.

The message from Beijing is that China will not countenance any actions by the international community to legitimise Taiwan’s claims to independence.

The Chinese Ambassador Xiao Qian poses for a photograph on June 11, 2022. Photo by Matt Jelonek/The West Australian.
Camera IconThe Chinese Ambassador Xiao Qian. Credit: Matt Jelonek/The West Australian

That includes statements from Australia.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine presented the international community with the vexing question of whether China would follow suit in Taiwan.

The world now has its answer. It will. When it will do that remains unclear.

Taiwan has been seeking independence since Chiang Kai-shek fled to the island with his Nationalist forces after Mao Zedong’s communists declared the creation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.

But Mr Xiao said there was “no room for compromise” on Taiwan.

Its future was not a matter to be decided by the 23 million Taiwanese, but by the 1.4 billion inhabitants of China.

The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, has told Congress that President Xi wants to invade Taiwan by 2027.

Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley speaks during a media briefing at the Pentagon, Friday, Jan. 28, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Camera IconThe chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley. Credit: Alex Brandon/AP

Mr Xiao said he doesn’t like the word “invade”. Neither does the international community, but for different reasons.

The question now is how the US and its allies, including Australia, respond when the inevitable happens.

The Biden administration is emitting mixed messages.

The President has said on three occasions that America would be bound to defend Taiwan militarily.

Each time, his staff have attempted to water down those comments to make the question of automatic military involvement more nebulous.

As defence minister in the Morrison government, Peter Dutton said it was “inconceivable” that Australia would not join the US in defending Taiwan militarily.

As Peter Law observed on this page yesterday, Anthony Albanese has studiously avoided any direct statement on that possibility since taking office.

But it is doubtful that he’ll be able to maintain that diplomatic ambiguity as the temperature in the Taiwan Strait rises.

Before this week, Xiao Qian’s public comments since arriving in Australia in January had been largely encouraging, characterising his mission as one seeking a reset in bilateral relations.

Wednesday’s address was a stark departure from that.

It was far from a charm offensive. Indeed, it was the opposite. It was both charmless and offensive.

His direction that the Albanese Government should “handle the Taiwan question with caution” sounded like a threat.

When I asked him whether it was, he replied: “I am here to seek friends, not rivals or adversaries or even enemies”.

He sure has a funny way of going about that. But Australia and the rest of the Western world aren’t laughing.

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