Beijing’s key security concerns are to uphold its territorial sovereignty and maintain national unity, and its biggest worry is over Taiwanese independence, said a prominent Chinese geopolitical analyst yesterday.

“(Taiwan’s independence) is the largest threat to China in the past, today and in the future. Because it directly involves national sovereignty and national unity,” said Professor Chu Shulong, director of the Institute of International Strategic and Development Studies at Tsinghua University in Beijing. He was speaking at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) Distinguished Public Lecture on China’s Military Modernisation and Security Strategy.

“The Taiwan issue is the only issue that might cause China to engage in a major war — now, (or) in the future — with Taiwan and with the United States,” added Prof Chu, referring to Washington’s legal obligation under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act to come to Taipei’s aid in the event of an attack.

Prof Chu, who is also a RSIS Distinguished Visiting Fellow, said that, in his view, China-Taiwan relations are basically a political, economic and social issue, not a military one.