Taiwan will not bend to pressure despite China returning to its "old ways" of intimidation, President Tsai Ing-wen said Saturday, following Beijing's protests over her call to US President-elect Donald Trump.
China has stepped up military drills near Taiwan since the call earlier in December, in a move seen as putting on a show of strength as its ties with the self-ruled island and the United States deteriorate.
The call with Trump upended decades of diplomatic precedent in which Washington has effectively ignored Taipei in favour of Beijing, which considers Taiwan a breakaway province to be brought back within its fold.
In her end-of-year address, Tsai urged calm from Beijing and warned that recent actions by China were affecting cross-strait stability.
"Beijing authorities are returning to their old ways of isolating and suppressing Taiwan, and even of threats and intimidation," Tsai said.
"We hope this is not a policy decision by Beijing," she said. "We won't bend to pressure yet we also won't return to the old path of confrontation."
The Taiwanese leader called on Beijing to resume dialogue to find a "reasonable" solution.
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