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By Micah McCartney
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China has issued a strong protest and an ominous warning after news broke Tuesday that the U.S. and Taiwan had recently conducted joint naval drills in secret.
"I noted that it's reported that the U.S. and Taiwan vessels had 'unplanned encounters,'" Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at that day's regular press conference. "I want to stress that China is firmly opposed to the U.S.' military contact with Taiwan. This position is consistent and unequivocal."
Washington is Taipei's main arms supplier. However, the two sides maintain a low profile when it comes to military cooperation and training, to avoid a spike in tensions with the People's Republic of China, which considers Taiwan part of its own territory despite never having governed there.
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Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters the "unplanned sea encounters" took place at some point last month and involved about half a dozen vessels from each side, including frigates and supply ships.
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The secret drills included "basic" actions like refueling and communications, and took place in secret at some point last month, according to the sources.
Taiwan's navy said it conducts its interactions with other countries in line with the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea, a 2014 non-binding agreement aimed at minimizing uncertainty and interference between different countries' naval forces, according to Taiwan's defense ministry spokesperson Sun Li-fang.
"The navy often makes contact with vessels of other countries and conducts encounter drills as needed," the statement read.
Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Department of Defense and Chinese foreign ministry via written requests for comment.
Wang called on Washington to "stop its wrong behavior of having military contact with Taiwan" and to "earnestly abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiqués"—both cornerstones of U.S.-China relations.
The U.S. has for decades observed a "one China principle" in which it acknowledges—but does not necessarily agree with—Beijing's claim that it represents Taiwan as well as China.
The three communiqués Wang mentioned were statements jointly made by the U.S. and China as they normalized relations in the late 1970s and early 80s. In the third communiqué, the U.S. said it intended to eventually draw down its arms sales to Taiwan, without specifying a timeline.
"We also have a clear message for the DPP (Democratic Progressive Party) authorities: seeking 'Taiwan independence' and resisting reunification with force is bound to fail. They can be assured of that," Wang said, in reference to Taiwan's ruling party.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has repeatedly declared that Taiwan must be brought into the fold, through force if necessary. Polling in recent years shows only a small minority of Taiwanese favor unification.
Beijing has ratcheted up military, economic and diplomatic pressure since President Tsai Ing-wen of the China-skeptic DPP was elected in 2016. Tsai's incoming successor, President-elect Lai Ching-te, has echoed her position that Taiwan remains open to engagement with its neighbor on the conditions of "equality and dignity."
In light of China's threats and increasing military activities in nearby waters, Taiwan has doubled down on defense by raising its military budget, increasing compulsory military service to one year, and boosting indigenous weapons programs, while continuing major purchases from Washington.
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