Military will step in, says China

Republic vows to foil attempts to separate Taiwan and Republic

BEIJING:

China’s military will take action “at any cost” to foil any attempt to separate the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own, the country’s defence minister said.

China has been infuriated by recent US sanctions on its military, one of a growing number of flashpoints in Sino-US ties that include a bitter trade war, the issue of Taiwan, and China’s increasingly muscular military posture in the South China Sea.

On Monday, the United States sent two warships through the Taiwan Strait in the second such operation this year and the latest in a series of US gestures in support of democratic Taiwan.

“The Taiwan issue is related to China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and touches upon China’s core interests,” Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe said at the opening of the Xiangshan Forum in Beijing, which China styles as its answer to the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore.

“On this issue, it is extremely dangerous to repeatedly challenge China’s bottom line. If someone tries to separate out Taiwan, China’s army will take the necessary actions at any cost.”

China-Taiwan relations have deteriorated since the island’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, of the independence- leaning Democratic Progressive Party, swept to power in 2016.

Tsai says she wants to maintain the status quo with China but will not be bullied. Beijing, which has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, has also viewed US overtures toward the island with alarm, such as a new de facto embassy there and passage of a law to encourage visits by US officials.

China’s military ties with the United States are important and sensitive, Wei said, adding that China would never give up an inch of its territory.

Beijing opposed displays of strength and provocation in the South China Sea by “nations from outside the region” carried out under the pretence of protecting freedom of flight and navigation, he added.

The world’s two largest economies needed to deepen high-level ties so as to navigate tension and rein in the risk of inadvertent conflict, US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis told his Chinese counterpart in Singapore last week. — Reuters