Taiwan Urges China To Stop Military Intimidation After Xi Warns Trump On Taiwan

Taiwan said on Thursday (May 14) that there was “nothing surprising” in the outcome of talks between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, while urging China to stop military intimidation around the island.

The dispute sharpened after Xi warned Trump that mishandling the Taiwan issue could lead to “clashes and even conflicts” between the United States and China, according to a statement later echoed by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning on X.

CNN

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council spokesman Liang Wen-chieh said Taiwan was closely monitoring developments but had seen no major surprises from the summit, adding that “there has been no surprising information so far and we will continue to maintain close communication with the American side.”

Liang argued that Beijing’s military activities — not Taiwan’s democratic system or international partnerships — posed the biggest risk to regional stability, and he said the Chinese Communist Party should restrain its own behavior of military intimidation.

The backdrop to the exchange included Xi’s portrayal of Taiwan as “the most important issue in China-U.S. relations,” as described by China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to downplay Xi’s warning, telling NBC News while traveling with Trump that “They always raise it on their side. We always make clear our position, and we move on to the other topics.”

Rubio also said it would be “a terrible mistake” for China to take the island militarily, while maintaining that US policy toward Taiwan remains “unchanged,” as Taiwan continues to view China’s military activities as the biggest risk to regional stability.

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In Taipei, Liang Wen-chieh said that if maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is the “greatest common ground between China and the United States,” then the Chinese Communist Party should restrain its own behavior of military intimidation.

China’s warning was framed alongside its claim that Taiwan remains “the most important issue in China-U.S. relations,” with Xi’s message presented as a conditional warning about stability and the bilateral relationship.

The same reporting described China’s intensification of military operations around Taiwan in recent years, including sending warplanes and naval vessels near the island almost daily.

China announced this Monday the mobilization of units from the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Rocket Force around Taiwan in major military exercises dubbed “Justice Mission 2025,” described as a “serious warning” against any attempt at Taiwanese independence.

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The Eastern Theater Command said the exercises would test combat readiness and the “blockade and control of key ports and critical areas” starting this Monday, with live-fire activities scheduled for this Tuesday in five maritime and air zones surrounding the island.

Taiwan condemned the exercises as “military intimidation,” while its Defense Ministry said it was “fully alert” and that it “would take concrete measures to defend the values of democracy and freedom.”

In the 24 hours since Monday, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry reported that China deployed 130 warplanes and 22 ships around Taiwan, and it said no warplane or warship had entered Taiwan’s territorial waters or airspace so far.

Major General Shi Yi, spokesperson for the Chinese Command, said the exercise “serves as a serious warning to the separatist forces seeking Taiwan independence and to external interference forces,” while Taiwan’s presidential spokesperson Karen Kuo said the drills “openly undermine the security and stability of the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.”