CaliToday (18/9/2025): China's Defense Minister, Dong Jun, delivered a stark message to an international audience on Thursday, reaffirming Beijing's long-standing threat to take control of self-governing Taiwan, framing the act as an essential component of the global order established after World War II.
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| Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun walks down the stage after speaking at China's annual security and defense dialogue, the Xiangshan Forum, in Beijing, China, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) |
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 12th Beijing Xiangshan Forum, a major annual security conference, Dong addressed military officials from dozens of countries, using the high-profile platform to assert China's claims over the democratic island.
"The restoration of Taiwan to China is an integral part of the post-war international order," Dong declared, framing Beijing’s ambition not as a future conquest but as a historical inevitability. The forum is a key event in China's diplomatic calendar, designed to project its regional leadership and foster military cooperation on its own terms, often seen as a counterpart to the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
Beijing has long viewed Taiwan—a vibrant democracy of 23 million people that has been governed separately from the mainland since 1949—as a renegade province. Chinese leadership has consistently stated it will not rule out the use of force to achieve what it terms "reunification." This rhetoric is backed by a sustained campaign of military intimidation, with Chinese warships and aircraft conducting near-daily operations in the waters and airspace around the island, a strategy designed to wear down Taiwan's defenses and demoralize its public.
Taiwan's government, led by President Lai Ching-te and his ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), vehemently rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims. They maintain that Taiwan is already an independent, sovereign state called the Republic of China, and that its future can only be decided by the 23 million people who live there.
In his speech, Dong vowed that China would "never allow any separatist attempts for Taiwan independence to succeed," and made it clear that Beijing was prepared to neutralize "any external military interference."
While promoting a message of global cooperation, Dong’s speech contained thinly veiled criticisms aimed at the United States and its allies. Without mentioning any country by name, he condemned "behaviors such as external military interference, seeking spheres of influence, and coercing others into taking sides," which he argued serve only to "plunge the international community into chaos and conflict."
He added, "The Chinese military stands ready to work with all parties to serve as a force for global peace, stability, and progress."
The security forum is being held just weeks after Beijing showcased its military might in a large-scale parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. The People's Liberation Army (PLA), the world's largest military force, displayed a range of advanced, domestically-produced weaponry, including hypersonic missiles and main battle tanks, in a clear demonstration of its growing capabilities.
Throughout his address, Dong stressed the importance of upholding the "UN-centered international system" as the legitimate framework for global peace. He presented China not as a revisionist power, but as a defender of the established order.
"We must defend the post-war order," he insisted. "We do not intend to overturn the existing order or to create a new one. Rather, the goal is to reinforce the cornerstone and pillars of the system."
However, by defining the absorption of Taiwan as a core part of that order, his speech underscored the fundamental and high-stakes clash between Beijing's vision for the world and the democratic aspirations of Taiwan and its international partners.
