Xi Jinping warns China will not renounce use of force to unify Taiwan; vows to strengthen military
Beijing, Oct 16: As he is all set to be in power for a record 3rd five-year term and perhaps for life, President Xi Jinping on Sunday warned that China will "not renounce the use of force" to unify Taiwan with the mainland.
He also vowed to advance the modernisation of the country's military to "world-class standards" to protect national sovereignty, security and developmental interests.
Taiwan considers itself a sovereign state but China views the self-ruled island as a breakaway province that must be reunified. Beijing has not ruled out the possible use of force to achieve national unification.
"We will not renounce the use of force and will take all necessary measures to stop all separatist movements" in Taiwan, Xi said on the opening day of the week-long key once-in-a-five-year Congress of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), which is widely expected to confer an unprecedented 3rd five-year term on him.
Except for Xi, all the top leaders of the party, including the number two leader Premier Li Keqiang, would be replaced or reshuffled during the Congress as the administration headed by 69-year-old Xi is completing a 10-year tenure.
However, the Congress is expected to endorse Xi's continuation as he has already been declared a "core leader" of the party on par with its founder Mao Zedong. Xi's continuation in power will formally end the over three decade practice of its top leaders retiring after completing two-five-year tenures.
In a show of unity, almost all retired former leaders of the party -- including Xi's predecessor Hu Jintao and Song Ping, a 105-year-old party veteran who groomed Xi's early career, took part in the opening ceremony held at the ornate Great Hall of the People here. However, conspicuously missing was 96-year-old former president Jiang Zemin, who was party leader until 2002.
All the leaders were seated along with Xi and Premier Li in the front row in the ornate Great Hall of People and seen cheering key aspects of his speech spanning one hour 45 minutes.
Xi's pledge to complete the reunification of China, which means the merger of Taiwan with the Chinese mainland, received a prolonged round of applause from over 2,300 elected delegates attending the Congress.
Xi, also the General Secretary of the CPC, said the party must stand firm on its strategy to resolve the Taiwan issue and be determined to reunify the nation.
"Resolving the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese, a matter that must be resolved by the Chinese," he said.
China has conducted intense military drills and fired missiles over the self-governing island following the high-profile visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in August, the highest American official visit to Taiwan, sparking concerns that Beijing may be preparing the ground for invasion.
"We will continue to strive for peaceful reunification with the greatest sincerity and the utmost effort, but we will never promise to renounce the use of force, and we reserve the option of taking all measures necessary. This is directed solely at interference by outside forces and the few separatists seeking 'Taiwan independence' and their separatist activities; it is by no means targeted at our Taiwan compatriots," Xi said.
The president said the wheels of history are rolling on toward China's reunification and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
"Complete reunification of our country must be realised, and it can, without doubt, be realised! We have always shown respect and care for our Taiwan compatriots and worked to deliver benefits to them. We will continue to promote economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation across the Strait.
"We will encourage people on both sides of the Strait to work together to promote Chinese culture and forge closer bonds," he said.
He said that during the past 10 years China has resolutely safeguarded sovereignty.
"We have not yielded any ground on matters of principle and we have resolutely safeguarded China's sovereignty, security and development interests. National security has been strengthened on all fronts," he said.
But at the same time he said China strives for friendly ties and partnership with neighbouring countries. "China strives to enhance friendly ties, mutual trust and converging interests with neighbouring countries," Xi said.
Xi also stressed on further modernising national defence and military.
Achieving the goals for the centenary of the People's Liberation Army in 2027 and more quickly elevating the people's armed forces to world-class standards are strategic tasks for building a modern socialist country in all respects, he said.
The CPC will intensify troop training and enhance combat preparedness across the board, strengthen all-around military governance, and consolidate and enhance integrated national strategies and strategic capabilities, Xi said.
He also said that the CPC will strengthen its control of the military to obey its directives.
"We will strengthen party building across the board in the people's armed forces to ensure that they always obey the party's command," he said.
The party will improve the institutions and mechanisms for implementing the system of ultimate responsibility resting with the chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC).
CMC is the overall high command of China's two million-strong military. Xi is also the chairman of the CMC, besides being the General Secretary of the party and President, making him the most powerful leader of the country in modern China.
During his ten-year tenure, Xi has carried out extensive reforms re-orienting the military, retrenching three lakh troops from the army and strengthening navy and air force as China expanded its influence globally with initiatives like the multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Xi said the CPC will strengthen party organisations in the people's armed forces, carry out regular activities and put in place institutions to improve the military's political work, and make unremitting efforts to improve conduct, enforce discipline, and combat corruption in the military.
In his address, Xi mostly focused on domestic issues and the development of the party under his leadership. He also said China must modernise its national security system and safeguard social stability.
"National security is the foundation of national rejuvenation, and social stability is a prerequisite of national strength. We must unswervingly implement the comprehensive national security concept, maintain national security throughout all aspects of the work of the party and the state to ensure national security and social stability," he said.
Xi said China will have to come up with capacity and institutes to ensure food, energy, key industrial and supply chains, and the lawful rights of Chinese citizens overseas.
He also said China works to see cooperation mechanisms such as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) exert greater influence and emerging markets and developing countries are better represented and have a greater say in global affairs.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
