China’s Defense Ministry on Thursday accused Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of pushing the island into a “dangerous war situation” after reports that Taipei plans to purchase thousands of military drones.
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China assumes that Taiwan represents part of its territory that it will one day seize by force if necessary.
Relations have deteriorated since independence advocate Tsai Ing-wen came to power in 2016.
Beijing has increased its diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan in recent years, and the number of warplane flights around the island increased following a visit last August by Nancy Pelosi, then Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said Thursday that the DPP is “pushing Taiwan ever more rapidly into a dangerous situation of war and violence,” in response to reports this month that Taipei plans to purchase thousands of military drones over the next four years planned.
Wu said on Thursday that China’s armed forces would “step up their military training and war preparation.”
He also condemned U.S. influence in Chinese-claimed South China Sea waters, but said that “channels of communication between Beijing and Washington have always been open.”
Also on Thursday, Taiwan announced that a Chinese flotilla led by the aircraft carrier Shandong had entered the Pacific Ocean via the Bashi Channel, a waterway that separates the island from the Philippines.