China warns Taiwan on challenging blockade drills

China’s military on Friday threatened to “reunify” Taiwan if Taipei challenges its war games intended to seize the island by force.

“Since taking office, the leader of the Taiwan region has seriously challenged the one-China principle... pushing our compatriots in Taiwan into a perilous situation of war and danger,” Beijing’s defense ministry spokesperson Wu Qian said in a statement.

“This is purely playing with fire, and those who play with fire will surely get themselves burnt,” Wu said.

He warned that it would take further steps if forces pushing for Taiwan’s independence provoked Beijing.

“We will push our countermeasures one step further, until the complete reunification of the motherland is achieved,” Wu said.

Chinese warships and fighter jets surrounded Taiwan on Friday in the second day of drills that Beijing said were testing its ability to seize the island, days after its new president was sworn in.

The two-day exercises are testing the “capability of joint seizure of power, joint strikes and control of key territories,” said Li Xi, spokesperson for the People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command, according to state media.

China’s military kicked off the war games Thursday morning, surrounding Taiwan with naval vessels and military aircraft, while vowing the blood of “independence forces” on the island would flow.

The exercises — codenamed “Joint Sword-2024A” — come after Lai Ching-te was sworn in as Taiwan’s new president this week and made an inauguration speech that China denounced as a “confession of independence.”