Chinese communist dictator Xi Jinping signaled during a speech this week celebrating the 100-year anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party that the nation intends to take over Taiwan while a new report simultaneously shows new signs that China may be making significant expansions to their nuclear capabilities.
Xi claimed that China was working toward a “peaceful national reunification” with Taiwan, however, experts note that China is working to “accelerate their modernization programs to develop capabilities to seize Taiwan” and advance the time table from 2035 to 2027.
“Resolving the Taiwan question and realizing China’s complete reunification is a historic mission and an unshakable commitment of the Communist Party of China,” Xi said. “We must take resolute action to utterly defeat any attempt toward ‘Taiwan independence,’ and work together to create a bright future for national rejuvenation. No one should underestimate the resolve, the will, and the ability of the Chinese people to defend their national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Earlier in the speech, Xi aggressively championed beefing up China’s military in an effort to safeguard China which comes as the world demands answers for the coronavirus pandemic that originated from inside China.
We must accelerate the modernization of national defense and the armed forces. A strong country must have a strong military, as only then can it guarantee the security of the nation. At the point that it was engaged in violent struggle, the Party came to recognize the irrefutable truth that it must command the gun and build a people’s military of its own. The people’s military has made indelible achievements on behalf of the Party and the people. It is a strong pillar for safeguarding our socialist country and preserving national dignity, and a powerful force for protecting peace in our region and beyond. On the journey ahead, we must fully implement the Party’s thinking on strengthening the military in the new era as well as our military strategy for the new era, maintain the Party’s absolute leadership over the people’s armed forces, and follow a Chinese path to military development. We will take comprehensive measures to enhance the political loyalty of the armed forces, to strengthen them through reform and technology and the training of competent personnel, and to run them in accordance with the law. We will elevate our people’s armed forces to world-class standards so that we are equipped with greater capacity and more reliable means for safeguarding our national sovereignty, security, and development interests.
The news comes as The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that satellite images appear to show that China is adding more than 100 new missile silos for intercontinental ballistic missiles in a region that is deep inside China.
“The 119 nearly identical construction sites contain features that mirror those seen at existing launch facilities for China’s arsenal of nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles,” The Post reported. “The acquisition of more than 100 new missile silos, if completed, would represent a historic shift for China, a country that is believed to possess a relatively modest stockpile of 250 to 350 nuclear weapons.”
Jeffrey Lewis, an expert on China’s nuclear arsenal and part of a team that analyzed the suspicious sites, told The Post that the scale that China was building the silos was “incredible.”
“If the silos under construction at other sites across China are added to the count, the total comes to about 145 silos under construction,” Lewis said. “We believe China is expanding its nuclear forces in part to maintain a deterrent that can survive a U.S. first strike in sufficient numbers to defeat U.S. missile defenses.”
Xi added during his remarks that China would not be intimidated by “threats of force” and that the nation was resilient because they have “a strong sense of pride and confidence.” “We will never allow any foreign force to bully, oppress, or subjugate us,” he said. “Anyone who would attempt to do so will find themselves on a collision course with a great wall of steel forged by over 1.4 billion Chinese people.”