CHINA'S chilling "war signal" has allegedly been heard in official circles as the country holds military drills near Taiwan.
The phrase “Don’t say we didn’t warn you” was issued before China’s last two war major wars and has now been invoked as it conducts military drills ahead of Nancy Pelosi’s proposed visit to Taiwan.
China is conducting live-fire exercises in waters near Pingtan Island of Fujian province, which is opposite the self-governing island of Taiwan.
Recent days have seen US warships scrambled to the South China Sea as tensions soar over the visit and fears it could lead to war.
The Institute of Taiwan Studies in Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the country’s highest-level think tank, discussed the visit, Global Times reports.
The fiercely nationalistic paper said the phrase "Don't say we didn't warn you" frequently came up in discussions.
The phrase was used in official media in 1962 before China went to war with India and ahead of the 1979 China-Vietnam conflict, says Global Times.
Yang Mingjie, the head of the institute, reiterated that sending fighter jets to intercept Pelosi’s plane remained an option.
"The US should not underestimate the Chinese people's determination to defend core interests on sovereignty, integrity and security at any time,” he said.
Hu Xijin, firebrand former editor-in-chief of the Global Times, wrote: "Our fighter jets should deploy all obstructive tactics.
“If those are still ineffective, I think it is okay too to shoot down Pelosi's plane."
On Thursday, the USS Ronald Reagan and its strike group arrived in the South China Sea, in a move China's foreign ministry described as the US "flexing its muscles".
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