China has continued its threats to annex Taiwan by military force, stressing on Wednesday that it will "work with the utmost sincerity and make every effort to achieve peaceful reunification."
Noting at the same time that this does not mean abandoning the use of force.
Parallel to the Chinese military exercises on the one hand, and their Taiwanese counterpart on the other hand, which raised tensions between the two sides to the highest level in years, the Chinese warning was issued today by the Cabinet's Taiwan Affairs Office and its News Department.
"Beijing will act with the utmost sincerity and make every effort to achieve peaceful reunification, but we will not give up the use of force, and we reserve the option to take all necessary measures," the office said in a statement.
He stressed that "this is to protect against external interference and all separatist activities," as he put it.
"We will always be ready to respond with force or other necessary means of intervention by outside forces or radical action by separatist elements. Our ultimate goal is to secure the prospects for China's peaceful reunification and advance this process," the Chinese statement added.
China says the threatening moves were prompted by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan last week, but Taiwan says such visits are routine and China used it only as an excuse to increase its threats.
In a further response to Pelosi's visit, China said it had cut off dialogue on maritime security issues and climate change with the United States, Taiwan's main military and political backer.
Taiwanese maneuvers
On the other hand, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu considered the Chinese military exercises "reflecting ambitions to control vast areas of the western Pacific," while Taipei conducted its own maneuvers to confirm its readiness to defend itself.
"Beijing's strategy will include controlling the East and South China Seas through the Taiwan Strait and imposing a blockade to prevent the United States and its allies from helping Taiwan in the event of an attack," Joseph Wu said at a press conference in Taipei on Tuesday.
In response to the Chinese exercises, Taiwan has put its forces on alert, but has so far refrained from taking effective countermeasures.
It conducted live-fire exercises in Pingtung County, on the island's southeast coast.
They are exercises designed to simulate Taiwan's defense against a Chinese military attack.
Taiwanese television reported that flares were fired in coastal areas during Taipei's military exercises in Pingtung, near an area designated earlier by the Chinese military for its exercises.
Meanwhile, Pelosi defended her visit to Taiwan despite the ensuing tensions with China.
The Speaker of the US House of Representatives said in an interview with "NBC" that the visit "worth its consequences."
"What the Chinese do is what they usually do," Pelosi stressed, referring to Chinese exercises around Taiwan.
Pelosi, 82, said she had bipartisan support in Washington for her controversial visit to Taiwan, saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping "is in a fragile position and has problems with his economy. He is behaving like a panicked bully."