As President Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping ostensibly agree to abide by the Taiwan agreement, the Chinese Communist Party is warning that the \u2026<\/b>
\nAs President Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping ostensibly agree to abide by the Taiwan agreement, the Chinese Communist Party is warning that the militaries currently swarming Taiwan are \u201cteetering on the edge of a face-off.\u201d Tensions are ratcheting up as China\u2019s People\u2019s Liberation Army planes violated Taiwan\u2019s airspace 149 times over the past week \u2014 setting a record \u2014 including 56 flights on Monday, and the US has stepped up naval operations with allies in the South China Sea, a challenge to Beijing\u2019s territorial claims over the waterway. The State Department called the flights \u201crisky\u201d and \u201cdestabilizing \u201d on Sunday and urged China, which believes the island is a rogue province and part of its territory, to stop its \u201cprovocative military activity.\u201d Taiwan\u2019s Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said Wednesday the situation \u201cis the most severe in the 40 years since I\u2019ve enlisted\u201d and predicted China will be able to mount an invasion in four years. \u201cBy 2025, China will bring the cost and attrition to its lowest. It has the capacity now, but it will not start a war easily, having to take many other things into consideration,\u201d he said. But Biden insisted to reporters on Tuesday that he and Xi have agreed to comply with the Taiwan agreement. \u201c We agree we will abide by the Taiwan agreement. That\u2019s where we are. And we made it clear that I don\u2019t think he should be doing anything other than abiding by the agreement, \u201d the president said when asked about Chinese-Taiwanese relations. The conversation Biden referred to is apparently the 90-minute call he had with Xi on Sept.9, in which they reiterated the need for peace and stability in the region and discussed ensuring that competition between the two countries \u201cdoes not veer into conflict,\u201d the White House readout said. The Taiwan agreement, passed by Congress in 1979, undergirds US diplomatic ties to Taiwan but takes no position on its sovereignty. It lays out the need for a cultural and commercial relationship between the two countries, but also recognizes that the future of Taiwan will be determined by peaceful means. The act also requires the US to come to Taiwan\u2019s defense if it is attacked. But despite Biden\u2019s assurances, China seems to have taken a different tack, warning the US against interfering in its relationship with Taiwan and that \u201cwar may be triggered at any time,\u201d in an article in the CCP mouthpiece Global Times. \u201cThe strategic collusion between the US and Japan and the DPP authorities is becoming more audacious, and the situation across the Taiwan Straits has almost lost any room for maneuver teetering on the edge of a face-off, creating a sense of urgency that the war may be triggered at any time,\u201d the article said, referring to the Democratic Progressive Party, which supports an independent Taiwan. \u201cThe secessionist forces on the island will never be allowed to secede Taiwan from China under whatever names or by whatever means, and, the island will not be allowed to act as an outpost of the US\u2019 strategic containment against China,\u201d the article said. Xi ordered the People\u2019s Liberation Army to increase its presence near Taiwan as the US and its allies conduct naval exercises, Japan\u2019s Kyodo News reported. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said it would be \u201ccatastrophic\u201d if China took Taiwan by force. \u201cAs countries increasingly recognize the threat that the Chinese Communist Party poses, they should understand the value of working with Taiwan,\u201d she wrote in Foreign Affairs magazine on Tuesday. \u201cIf Taiwan were to fall, the consequences would be catastrophic for regional peace and the democratic alliance system. It would signal that in today\u2019s global contest of values, authoritarianism has the upper hand over democracy,\u201d she said. Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said he hoped the \u201cmatter is resolved peacefully\u201d but is preparing for other outcomes. \u201cAdditionally, instead of simply monitoring the situation, we hope to weigh the various possible scenarios that may arise to consider what options we have, as well as the preparations we must make,\u201d Motegi said. Japan is part of the naval contingent conducting operations in the area along with the US, Britain, Netherlands, Canada and New Zealand to show their commitment to a \u201cfree and open Indo-Pacific.\u201d On Wednesday, national security adviser Jake Sullivan will meet with China\u2019s top diplomat Yang Jiechi in Zurich, Switzerland.<\/p>\n