TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — National Security Bureau (NSB) Chief Chen Ming-tong (陳明通) said Thursday (Nov. 4) that talks with China would be impossible while the country continues to threaten Taiwan with force.

Chen’s comments are in response to the release of the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD) China Military Power Report for 2021 on Wednesday (Nov. 3) which states China aims to match American military power in the Indo-Pacific by 2027, with the intention of forcing Taiwan to negotiate on its terms.

Chen went on to say that using the threat of force to intimidate Taipei to come to the negotiating table is a long-standing strategy of Beijing but that it will not work, according to a Liberty Times report.

He said the NSB has been paying attention to this approach for a long time and that it continually monitors the situation to identify potential points in time when China may try to leverage this pressure to realize its goals.

Asked by reporters whether Taiwan has any recent intel regarding the DOD’s estimate that China plans to have more than 1,000 nuclear missiles in its arsenal by 2030, Chen answered in the affirmative and that Taiwan is staying on top of the issue.