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Post by Admin on Jun 12, 2022 16:51:32 GMT
China warns Taiwan independence would trigger war - BBC News 42,464 views Jun 13, 2022 China has warned the US that any attempt to make Taiwan independent from China will trigger military action by Beijing's forces.
Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe met his US counterpart Lloyd Austin on the sidelines of an Asian security summit in Singapore.
Splitting Taiwan from China would leave the Chinese military with no choice but to "fight at any cost", Mr Wei said.
Mr Austin later called Chinese military activity "provocative, destabilising".
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Post by Admin on Jul 3, 2022 13:59:08 GMT
A Chinese attack on Taiwan is not imminent, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley has said, but the US is watching "very closely".
China is clearly developing the capability to attack at some point, but deciding to do so would be a political choice, Genral Milley told the BBC.
China says Taiwan is a breakaway province that must be re-unified with the mainland, by force if necessary.
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Post by Admin on Jul 10, 2022 17:40:19 GMT
A Chinese foreign affairs spokesperson released a statement denying "association" with the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The statement came from the Chinese Foreign Ministry Saturday via spokesman Zhao Lijian. Chinese officials with the ministry said they were shocked by the news of Abe's death and followed up on previous condolences sent to the people of Japan. "We certainly would like to send our regards to his family," said Lijian, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry. "I have just fully expressed the Chinese government’s position that this unexpected incident should not be associated with Sino-Japanese relations," Lijian specified. Lijian reportedly refused to comment on social media trends in China celebrating Abe's death. Abe's Japan-first policies ruffled feathers across East Asia, where Japan has maintained less-than-affectionate relationships with China and South Korea since the end of World War II. Japan and China have been wrangling over ownership of the Senkaku Islands, a disputed archipelago between mainland China and Japan. The People's Republic of China previously issued a curt statement lamenting the death of the former prime minister. Beijing used a cordial tone in its statement Friday despite the years of tension between the Abe cabinet and the Chinese Communist Party. The late prime minister routinely butted heads with President Xi Jinping while in office. "Former Prime Minister Abe made contributions towards improving China-Japan relations during his term," a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy told Reuters Friday.
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Post by Admin on Jul 26, 2022 1:34:28 GMT
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s reported plans to travel to Taiwan have upended Washington’s political divide, with a rift emerging with President Joe Biden over the visit to the self-governing island while prominent Republicans offer encouragement to a political opponent they normally scorn. Pelosi’s supporters include a conservative Republican senator, at least two former Trump administration officials and the last speaker of the House to make the trip to Taiwan, also a Republican. They are urging Biden to back the trip even as China threatens a forceful response if she goes. Pelosi, D-Calif., has not confirmed the trip publicly. The White House and the speaker’s office have yet to challenge each other directly, and Biden has not said publicly that Pelosi should not go. Biden has made blunting China’s rising influence a core part of his foreign policy ethos, but the Biden-China relationship is complicated and he has sought to avoid unnecessarily aggravating tensions. China considers democratic, self-ruling Taiwan its own territory and has raised the prospect of annexing it by force. The White House is preparing for another call between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, a conversation the U.S. president said he expects this week despite his COVID-19 diagnosis.
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Post by Admin on Jul 27, 2022 5:14:45 GMT
US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's rumoured plan for a trip to Taiwan has infuriated China and left the White House with a serious geopolitical headache. How big a problem is this? On Monday, China warned of "serious consequences" if Nancy Pelosi were to proceed with a visit to Taiwan in the coming weeks. Second in line to the presidency, Mrs Pelosi would be the highest ranking US politician to travel to the self-governing island democracy since 1997. However, China sees self-ruled Taiwan as a breakaway province that will eventually be part of the country again - and has not ruled out the possible use of force to achieve this. The potential trip has not only rankled Beijing - the Biden administration has reportedly tried to dissuade the California Democrat from going. Last week, President Joe Biden told reporters "the military thinks it's not a good idea", but his White House has called Chinese rhetoric against any such trip "clearly unhelpful and not necessary". Why would Pelosi want to visit Taiwan? There is strong bipartisan support for Taiwan among the American public and in the US Congress. And over a congressional career spanning 35 years, Speaker Pelosi has been a vocal critic of China. She has denounced its human rights record, met with pro-democracy dissidents, and also visited Tiananmen Square to commemorate victims of the 1989 massacre. Mrs Pelosi's original plan was to visit Taiwan in April, but it was postponed after she tested positive for Covid-19. She has declined to discuss details of the trip, but said last week that it was "important for us to show support for Taiwan".
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