China has conducted military exercises across the western Pacific involving an aircraft carrier and other naval formations, as President Xi Jinping renewed his call for Taiwan’s reunification with mainland China. The developments come amid heightened cross-strait tensions ahead of a major regional summit involving Beijing and Washington.
Taiwanese Defense Minister Wellington Koo confirmed Tuesday that the Liaoning aircraft carrier group and other Chinese naval formations had conducted exercises aimed at limiting outside military access to the region. Taiwan’s military said it was monitoring the operations and coordinating intelligence-gathering efforts with international partners, while Beijing has previously characterized the carrier’s western Pacific training as routine.
“The historical trends are unstoppable,” Xi said Thursday at a ceremony in Beijing commemorating the 160th anniversary of revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen’s birth. Xi reaffirmed Beijing’s objective of reunification through peaceful means and expressed willingness to hold talks under its one-China principle, while Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council rejected Beijing’s political framework and defended the island’s democratic system.
Sun helped lead the 1911 revolution that ended China’s imperial rule and paved the way for the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912. Following the Communist victory in 1949, the Republic of China’s government retreated to Taiwan, where it continues to operate, while Beijing maintains its sovereignty claim over the island. The People’s Republic of China has never governed Taiwan, and Taipei insists that its political future must be decided by its population. China’s expanding military activities around Taiwan have raised concerns over regional stability and the possibility of U.S. involvement in a future confrontation. The developments precede next week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, where Xi and U.S. President Donald Trump are expected to meet, alongside Taiwan’s local elections later this month.
The combination of military exercises and renewed reunification demands highlights Beijing’s continued reliance on military signaling and political messaging to advance its Taiwan objectives. Attention will turn to whether Chinese naval activity subsides ahead of the Xi–Trump meeting and whether Taiwan’s security emerges as a major issue in bilateral discussions, offering an indication of the direction of U.S.–China relations. (Agencies+EIR)
