On Wednesday, China’s Foreign Ministry sharply criticized the United States after a senior Defense Department official visited Taiwan.
Chinese Taiwan affairs office spokesman Zhu Fenglian accused the United States and Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party of trying to push the island for independence from China and discouraged the alleged efforts.
China “resolutely opposes any official interaction and military collaboration” between the two countries, Zhu said Wednesday, further underlining tensions between Beijing and Washington over Taiwan.
The comment comes after Michael Chase, deputy assistant secretary of defense for China, visited Taiwan amid Chinese military movements in the Pacific Ocean and East China Sea.
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FILE – Two soldiers fold the national flag during the daily flag ceremony at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall’s Freedom Square in Taipei, Taiwan on Saturday, July 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
Zhu also reiterated the Chinese government’s sanction against Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, both US-based companies that supply military equipment to the autonomous island.
Officially, the United States and most of the international community observe the One China policy which states that China has sovereignty over Taiwan, although the island is self-governing.
The spokesman also told reporters that such alleged cooperation between Taiwan and the United States to push for the island’s independence is “doomed to failure.”
China has said it will maintain its grip on Taiwan by force if necessary, often using its military and diplomatic efforts to exert control. The sides split during a civil war in 1949.
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In this photo released by Taiwan’s presidential office, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, center, shakes hands with California Representative Ro Khanna during a meeting at the presidential office in Taipei, Taiwan on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP)
The Pentagon did not comment directly on Chase’s visit, but reiterated that “the commitment to Taiwan is rock solid and contributes to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and within the region,” it said. the Associated Press.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also did not address the visit.
Similarly, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin accused the United States of coordinating an independence drive and said a “new round of tensions” in the Taiwan Strait was the result of such attempts at independence. “seeking independence with the support of the United States, as well as the intention of the United States to contain China with Taiwan.”
“We urge the United States to … stop any form of official US-Taiwan contact, stop meddling in the Taiwan issue, and stop creating new factors of tension in the Taiwan Strait,” Wang said on Wednesday.
In this photo released by Taiwan’s Presidential Office, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, center, and Taiwanese officials pose for photos with a U.S. delegation led by California Representative Ro Khanna, sixth from left, during a meeting at the presidential office in Taipei, Taiwan on Tuesday, February 21, 2023. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP)
Tensions between the US and China remain volatile as Washington accused Beijing of using a surveillance-capable balloon that flew over the continental US before being shot down off the coast of South Carolina.
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In the aftermath of the spy balloon controversy, Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a trip to Beijing, and the United States continues to criticize communications between China and Russia about the latter’s invasion of Ukraine.
China, in response, said it has “no limits” in its friendship with Russia and instead blames the US and NATO for provoking the Kremlin.
“The United States is the largest source of battlefield weapons in Ukraine,” Wang said at the briefing. “We do not accept US pointing fingers or even coercion on China-Russia relations. The US should seriously reflect on what it has done, stop stoking the fire or profit from it, and remain truly committed to promoting peace as China did”.
In this photo released by the Presidential Office in Taiwan, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, center, meets with a U.S. delegation led by California Representative Ro Khanna, third from left during a meeting at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Taiwan , Tuesday Feb. 2 21, 2023. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP)
A delegation of US lawmakers led by Khanna met with the Taiwanese president on Tuesday, who promised to deepen military cooperation between the two sides despite objections from China, which claims the island as its territory. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP)
A delegation of US lawmakers, including Representatives Ro Khanna, D-Calif., Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, Jake Auchincloss, D-MA and Jonathan Jackson, D-Illin. – visited Taiwan earlier this week as part of their five-day visit.
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The delegation met with the head of the legislature on Monday and met with President Tsai Ing-wen and other officials the following day.
The conference team also met with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company founder Morris Chang, considered the father of the island’s world-leading microchip industry, which is now investing heavily in US manufacturing.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
