China talking tough

MINISTER: WARNS WASHINGTON TO STOP ‘INTERFERING’ IN TAIWAN AFFAIRS

US sends warships through the Taiwan Strait for second time this year. Beijing

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

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

On Monday, the US sent two warships through the Taiwan Strait in the second such operation this year and the latest in a series of gestures made by the White House 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.

“On this issue, it is extremely dangerous to repeatedly challenge China’s bottom line.

“If someone tries to separate out Taiwan [from China], 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.

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 US are important and sensitive, Wei said, adding that they will never give up an inch of its territory. Beijing opposed displays of provocation in the South China Sea by “nations from outside the region” carried out under the pretence of protecting freedom of flight and navigation.