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China Hints at Use of Force in Hong Kong and Says U.S. Is Undermining Stability China Hints It Could Send Troops to Quell Hong Kong Protests, if Requested
(about 3 hours later)
BEIJING — China on Wednesday warned that it would not tolerate protesters’ efforts to threaten the central government’s authority in Hong Kong and suggested that it could, if necessary, mobilize troops in the People’s Liberation Army garrison there to maintain order. BEIJING — China on Wednesday warned that it would not tolerate protesters’ efforts to threaten the central government’s authority in Hong Kong and suggested that it could, if asked, mobilize troops in the People’s Liberation Army garrison there to maintain order.
The warning came as the government released a new defense strategy that accused the United States of undermining global stability and identified separatism as China’s most immediate security threat.The warning came as the government released a new defense strategy that accused the United States of undermining global stability and identified separatism as China’s most immediate security threat.
In the case of Hong Kong, the chief spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, Senior Col. Wu Qian, cited the protests on Sunday outside the central government’s liaison office in Hong Kong, which protesters painted with graffiti, suggesting that instances of violence were straining Beijing’s patience. In the case of Hong Kong, the chief spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, Senior Col. Wu Qian, cited the protests on Sunday outside the central government’s liaison office in Hong Kong, which protesters painted with graffiti, suggesting that instances of destructive behavior were straining Beijing’s patience.
“The behavior of some radical protesters challenges the central government’s authority, touching on the bottom line principle of ‘one country, two systems,’” Colonel Wu said during a news conference announcing the new security strategy. “That absolutely cannot be tolerated.” “The behavior of some radical protesters challenges the central government’s authority, touching on the bottom line principle of ‘one country, two systems,’” Colonel Wu said during a news conference in Beijing unveiling the new strategy. “That absolutely cannot be tolerated.”
He pointedly cited a specific article in the Basic Law, which details relations between the city and Beijing, that allows the People’s Liberation Army to intervene to maintain order or assist in cases of natural disasters, when asked by Hong Kong’s leaders. He pointedly cited the specific article in a law detailing relations between the city and Beijing that allows the People’s Liberation Army to intervene, when requested by Hong Kong’s leaders, to maintain order or assist in cases of natural disasters.
Beijing’s defense strategy, the first to be released in six years, also refused to rule out the use of force against Taiwan, which China claims as its territory, in the event the self-governing democracy took any formal steps toward independence. The document cited “external forces” that support such moves, an oblique reference to the United States, which has long provided political and military support to Taiwan. The defense strategy, the first in six years, also refused to rule out the use of force against Taiwan, which China claims as its territory, in the event the self-governing democracy took any formal steps toward independence.
The warnings about what are, to China, core matters of sovereignty underlined growing concern about threats to the central authority of the Communist Party government under Xi Jinping, who has repeatedly pledged never to cede any territory. Although China has long warned Taiwan against declaring formal independence, the warnings about the island were more detailed and voluminous than in previous defense strategies. The document criticized “external forces” that support such moves, an oblique but clear reference to the United States, which has long provided support to Taiwan, including a new sale of more than 100 M1A2T Abrams tanks and other weaponry, worth $2.2 billion.
“We must resolutely point out that engaging in Taiwan independence is a road to a dead end,” said Colonel Wu, who was joined by several senior military officials to detail aspects of the new strategy document. “If anyone dares to try to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese Army will certainly not hesitate to fight and resolutely defend the sovereignty, unification and territorial integrity of the country.” The warnings about what are, to China, core matters of sovereignty underlined growing concern about threats to the central authority of the Communist Party government under President Xi Jinping, whose pledges never to cede any territory are central to his image as the country’s most powerful leader in decades.
In Taiwan’s capital, Taipei, the Mainland Affairs Council responded with a statement on Wednesday, saying that it “resolutely opposed and condemned” China’s suggestion of military action to bring Taiwan under its control. Hong Kong was not mentioned in the strategy, but Colonel Wu responded to a question about the protests there to warn that China was prepared to act, if needed. Beijing has urged the Hong Kong government and the police to swiftly bring to justice those who stormed the territory’s legislative offices on July 1 and the central government’s liaison office in the city on Sunday, but officials have also expressed confidence in the local authorities’ abilities to handle the situation.
“The Chinese Communist Party’s provocative behavior not only impacts cross-strait peace, it also seriously violates the peaceful principles of international law and international relations,” the Taiwan government agency said, adding that China’s actions caused “unease and concern among neighboring countries.” The new defense strategy — 69 pages in all — offered a detailed window into China’s rising military ambitions under the leadership of Mr. Xi. It reflected its uneasy view of an increasingly uncertain world and acknowledged shortcomings still hampering the People’s Liberation Army, especially in the areas of artificial intelligence and what it called “informationized warfare.”
“Greater efforts have to be invested in military modernization to meet national security demands,” the strategy said, noting that Chinese military spending was lower as a percentage of gross domestic product than not only the United States and Russia, but also France and Britain. “The P.L.A. still lags far behind the world’s leading militaries.”
Adam Ni, a researcher at Macquarie University in Sydney, said the strategy was noteworthy for emphasizing the military’s loyalty to the Communist Party and the primary mission of providing domestic security. The centrality of the party’s role has been a recurring theme Mr. Xi’s statements ahead of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in October.
“The white paper makes it clear that maintaining internal security and social stability is the top priority for China’s armed forces,” Mr. Ni wrote in an email. “It is a clear admission that China’s military is oriented internally as much as externally.”
The paper, whose titled included Mr. Xi’s signature allusions to a “new era,” stopped short of explicitly identifying the United States as an adversary, as the Trump administration did with China (and Russia) in its own national security strategy in 2017.
It did accuse the United States of undermining international stability, however, by acting unilaterally across the globe and by expanding its capabilities in nuclear weaponry, missile defenses, cyberwarfare and in outer space. (President Trump last year ordered the creation of the United States Space Force as a sixth branch of the American military.)
“The international security system and order are under attack,” Colonel Wu said. He went on to criticize those who have described growing tensions in the world as a clash of civilization akin to the Cold War.
The strategy — and the comments of the senior officials — made it clear that China had its own red lines, particularly dealing with anything threatening its territorial sovereignty.
It signaled out, for example, the deployment in South Korea of the American missile defense system called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD.
Chinese officials have similarly accused the Americans of supporting the protests convulsing Hong Kong and, more broadly, for supporting Taiwan, whose president, Tsai Ing-wen, visited the United States this month.
Although China has long warned Taiwan against steps toward of independence, the language in the new strategy was more detailed and voluminous than in previous ones. The document sharply criticized Ms. Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party for “stepping up efforts to sever the connection with the mainland.”
“While it does not look like a change in policy, there is definitely more emphasis on Taiwan,” said Drew Thompson, the director of China policy at the Pentagon from 2011 to 2018 and now a research fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. “That underscores the fact that Taiwan remains the main focus of P.L.A. modernization efforts.”
Regarding Hong Kong, the law Colonel Wu cited took effect when China resumed control of Hong Kong in 1997 and details the activities of the military garrison that was established there soon after. The force, which is now said to have 6,000 troops, is headquartered in a former British military building in Admiralty, near where many of the protests have unfolded.
Although the law says the People’s Liberation Army will not interfere in “local affairs,” it allows the authorities in Hong Kong to call on the military in extreme circumstances.
The use of force — even a symbolic display of military might — would be an ominous and unpredictable turn in an already volatile situation.
Analysts said that the warning of military involvement in Hong Kong could inflame, rather than calm, the underlying grievances driving the protests.
“I think it is likely to backfire and further harden public opinion and concerns about the Communist Party of China at a time with the ‘one country, two systems’ model is being called into question,” Elsa B. Kania, an expert on Chinese military and defense strategy with the Center for a New America Security in Washington, said in an interview.
The protests have already reverberated in Taiwan, which holds a presidential election in January that is, by some measure, boiling down to a referendum on ties with China.
In Taiwan, the Mainland Affairs Council responded to the new strategy with a statement condemning the warnings. “The Chinese Communist Party’s provocative behavior not only impacts cross-strait peace,” the statement said, “it also seriously violates the peaceful principles of international law and international relations.”
Ms. Kania said China’s hard-line message on Taiwan could also be directed at the United States. Detailing China’s view of the threat in a formal strategy was “intended to demonstrate resolve and a sense of the stakes to the United States.”