There is a storm brewing across the Taiwan Strait. China has increased its military activity around Taiwan and deployed new landing barges in the South China Sea, while the counter-influence policies of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te and shifts in US rhetoric are viewed as provocations by Beijing – fuelling a vicious circle of tensions. Beijing has long hoped for the ‘peaceful reunification’ of Taiwan with mainland China, but has repeatedly stated that it will not renounce the use of force to achieve unification if necessary. While Beijing’s ideal long-term strategy is to pressure Taiwan to unify without the need for conflict, the emerging pattern of its actions suggests that it increasingly believes that forceful intervention could be necessary.
China’s military build-up indicates it is serious about taking Taiwan (William Matthews, Chatham House)
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