China has renewed its threats to attack Taiwan and cautioned that foreign politicians who interact with the self-governing island are “playing with fire.”
A spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, Ma Xiaoguang noted that the country was recommitted in the new year to “safeguarding sovereignty and territorial integrity” and “smashing plots for Taiwan independence” on the self-governing democracy that separated from mainland China in 1949.
At a biweekly news conference, Ma Xiaoguang intoned, “The malicious support for Taiwan independence among anti-China elements in a few foreign countries are a deliberate provocation.”
“We call on the relevant countries to cease sending the wrong signals to Taiwan independence separatist forces and cease playing with fire on the question of Taiwan.”
Ma Xiaoguang
China regards Taiwan as a Chinese territory that must be brought under Beijing’s control, by force if necessary.
A string of visits in recent months by foreign politicians to Taiwan, including by then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and numerous politicians from the European Union, triggered displays of military might from both sides.
This week, Taiwan’s military is staging drills intended to reassure the public of its ability to counter China’s threats ahead of this month’s Lunar New Year holiday.
“The most important thing is to maintain the safety of our airspace and national security,” Air force Lt. Col. Wu Bong-yeng disclosed at Hsinchu Air Base just south of the capital, Taipei.
German And Lithuanian Lawmakers Visit Taiwan
Taiwan’s military drills coincide with a visit from German and Lithuanian lawmakers; the latter Baltic state being a particular target of Chinese fury for upgrading its ties with Taiwan.
The Lithuanian visit is focused on national security and defense as well as economic ties, lawmakers revealed.
“They tried to break our will, they tried to change our decision, they tried to harass investors and they tried to make economic sanctions but we survived. We are now resilient and stronger, and we can be a role model for other EU countries.”
Laurynas Kasciunas, Head of the defense committee in Lithuania’s parliament
The Lithuanian delegation is led by Kasciunas, along with the Vice Chair of the Taiwan friendship group in parliament, Dovile Sakaliene.
The lawmakers drew parallels between the threat they face from Russia and the threat Taiwan faces from China, saying they both had authoritarian neighbors.
“We have very clear common goals, strengthening democracy globally and really helping everyone around us understand very clearly. There cannot be any ambivalence. You are either with the aggressor or you are with the victim.”
Dovile Sakaliene
China has responded to foreign visits by holding large-scale military exercises seen by some as a rehearsal for a blockade or invasion.
Beijing sends airplanes and warships toward Taiwan on a near-daily basis, often crossing the midline of the 160 kilometer (100 miles) Taiwan Strait dividing the sides.
At the end of December, China sent a record 71 planes and seven ships toward Taiwan, the largest of such scale exercises in 2022.
China’s efforts to isolate the island diplomatically have left Taiwan with just fourteen official diplomatic partners, although it retains robust unofficial relations with key ally, the U.S. and more than 100 nations around the world.
Beijing refuses to have official relations with governments that recognize Taiwan as a sovereign country. It has persuaded all but about a dozen countries, most of them in Africa and Latin America, to switch recognition to the mainland.
Many governments, including the United States, have official diplomatic ties with Beijing while maintaining extensive commercial ties with Taiwan.
Many maintain relations with the island’s democratically elected government through trade offices that serve as informal embassies.
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