A tightrope walker exercise has been going on for several days over Taiwan.
This large island - larger in the Paca region - which bears the official name of the Republic of China since 1949, as opposed to the People's Republic of China administered in Beijing, enjoys administrative, political, diplomatic and military autonomy from the mainland. , but its independence remains subject to controversy.
Beijing continues to proclaim its authority over "the renegade province", 23 million inhabitants, economic and financial flagship of Southeast Asia.
Thus on Friday morning, the spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry recalled that Beijing would leave "no room for compromise" in the face of those who question "its sovereignty and its territorial integrity".
This is the latest reaction in an issue that strains the already very complex relations between China and the United States.
"No one can force Taiwan to follow the path China has blazed for us"
Taiwan, the living theater of the Sino-American conflict? From October 1 to 5, the Chinese Air Force stepped up its overflights of the island: nearly 56 military planes, including nuclear-capable bombers, flew over the island 149 times, while China celebrated the 70 years of the communist regime. In response, Taipei, sent its fighter planes. In 2020, 380 Chinese Air Force aircraft were detected in the Taiwan Air Defense Identification Zone; they were close to 550 in 2021, even before the Chinese show of force which also preceded the Taiwanese national holiday on October 10 by a few days.
"No one can force Taiwan to follow the path that China has mapped out for us," President Tsai Ing-wen said on the occasion, affirming that the island is "on the front line to defend democracy".
On Thursday evening, US President Joe Biden argued that the United States would militarily defend Taiwan in the event of a threat.
"We are committed to doing it," he said in a town hall meeting in Baltimore, broadcast on CNN.
Although Washington is required by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, and American special forces train the local army, there has long been ambiguity as to whether a military intervention could be triggered in the event of an attack. Chinese attack.
"We will continue to support Taiwan's self-defense and we will continue to oppose any unilateral change in the status quo," a White House spokesman then cautiously corrected.
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Taiwan fighter jets train to land on highway
At this public meeting, Biden said there was no need to worry because "China, Russia and the rest of the world know that we are the most powerful army in the history of the world."
“What you have to worry about is whether or not they're going to engage in activities that would put them in a position where they could make a big mistake,” he continued.
“I don't want a cold war with China.
I just want China to understand that we are not going to back down, that we will not change any of our views ”.