A Chinese military official believes China should ram US ships sent to challenge its control of the South China Sea and “be ready to take over Taiwan”.

Chinese Air Force colonel Dai Xu made the remarks at an event over the weekend sponsored by the Global Times, a state newspaper published by the Chinese Communist Party.

At the conference held in Beijing, Chinese government and military officials discussed the current state of US and China relations and issues in the highly contested South China Sea. China claims most of the strategic waterway and has built islands on reefs and equipped them with military facilities such as airstrips, radar domes and missile systems.

Reports in the Chinese media suggest tensions in the strategically important region could heighten next year and Dai Xu called on the Chinese government to take a more aggressive approach to asserting its claims.

“If the US warships break into Chinese waters again, I suggest that two warships should be sent: one to stop it, and another one to ram it,” he said, reported the Global Times.

“In our territorial waters, we won’t allow US warships to create disturbance.”

In a kind of diplomatic brinkmanship, both countries have been keen to project a show of force in the region, raising fears it could become a flashpoint for conflict.

Under the banner of “freedom of navigation operations” the US has routinely sent maritime patrol aircraft and guided missile destroyers to venture near the islands China has build up to assert the claim that the waters remain under international control.

In October, the Australian government voiced its concerns after startling pictures showed a near-collision between a US navy ship and a Chinese vessel in the South China Sea.

Xu, who is also the President of the Institute of Marine Safety and co-operation, reportedly said that he didn’t understand why some people were afraid when Chinese warships intercepted US warships.

TAKING BACK TAIWAN

He was also hawkish when it came to the issue of Taiwan and recommended the idea of absorbing the island nation and bringing it under Chinese control. Taiwan is a self-ruled island republic, but China sees it as a breakaway province that should be brought back into the fold and has not ruled out reunification by force.

Dai Xu suggested that provocation against China in the South China Sea would force the issue, prompting China to annex the country.

“It would boost the speed of our unification of Taiwan,” he said.

“Let’s just be prepared and wait. Once a strategic opportunity emerges, we should be ready to take over Taiwan.”

More: China sends warning with military exercise in the Taiwan Strait

In the latest act of provocation, on November 28 the US sent two Navy ships through the Taiwan Strait, despite opposition from China.

“The ships’ transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the US Pacific Fleet said in a statement.

Peter Mattis, a former CIA analyst and Fellow in the China Program at The Jamestown Foundation, believes Chinese president Xi Jinping could seek to boost his domestic image as a leader in the coming years by reclaiming the island nation.

Speaking to news.com.au in September, he characterised Taiwan as the greatest immediate challenge the world currently faces with regards to the threat of rising China — even more so than growing tensions in the East and South China Seas.

“There are some very good reasons to be concerned about another Taiwan Strait crisis over the next couple of years,” Mr Mattis said.

“It’s not that we can’t prevent it, or at least shape it in some way, but if we’re not thinking about it and all of a sudden this starts happening, this is a foreseeable crisis and not one that should surprise us.”