China Reaffirms Threat Of Military Force

BEIJING (AP) – China has reaffirmed its threat to use military force to bring self-governing Taiwan under its control. The statement issued by the Cabinet’s Taiwan Affairs Office and its news department Wednesday followed almost a week of threatening Chinese military exercises near the island that have disrupted flights and shipping in a region crucial to global supply chains. The Chinese statement said Beijing seeks “peaceful unification” with Taiwan but “does not pledge to relinquish the use of military force and retains all necessary options.” China says the threatening moves were prompted by a visit to Taiwan last week by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but Taiwan says China used that merely as a pretext to up its threats.