China says it won’t rule out use of force to take Taiwan as war games end

Japan and the U.S. have condemned large-scale Chinese military exercises around Taiwan, after Beijing wrapped up the drills late Monday with a vow never to renounce the use of force to take control of the island — a hint that more shows of force are to come.

The daylong Joint Sword-2024B exercises, which took place in the Taiwan Strait and areas to the north, south and east of Taiwan, were intended to serve as “a stern warning” to “separatist” forces, the Chinese military said.

China views democratic Taiwan as its “core of core issues” and regards the island as a renegade province that must be unified with the mainland, by force if necessary.