2 yıl önce

China criticise US officials' Taiwan visit amid deterioration in relations

Chinese defence spokesperson said Beijing “resolutely opposes any official interaction and military collaboration” between the US and Taiwan.

AP

On Tuesday, a delegation of US lawmakers visiting Taiwan also met with President Tsai Ing-wen further angering Beijing.

China has sharply criticised a visit to Taiwan by a senior Pentagon official and reaffirmed it has sanctioned Lockheed Martin and a unit of Raytheon for supplying military equipment to the Taipei.

Wednesday's comments from the Chinese Cabinet's Taiwan Affairs Office underscore the dramatic deterioration in relations between Beijing and Washington over Taiwan, technology, spying allegations, and, increasingly, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

Asked about the reported Taiwan visit last week by Michael Chase, deputy assistant secretary of defence for China, office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian said China “resolutely opposes any official interaction and military collaboration” between the US and Taiwan.

Efforts by Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party to cement the island's independence with foreign assistance are “doomed to failure," Zhu told reporters.

On Tuesday, a delegation of US lawmakers visiting Taiwan also met with President Tsai Ing-wen, who said she looked for increased cooperation on issues from security to climate change.

China considers Taiwan part of its territory to be brought under its control by force if necessary, and has been stepping up its military and diplomatic harassment. The sides split amid civil war in 1949, and China's Communist Party has never held sway over the island.

A Pentagon spokesperson did not comment directly on Chase's visit, repeating that “our commitment to Taiwan is rock-solid and contributes to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and within the region.” Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said it had no information about any such visit.

Beijing-Moscow relations 'solid as rock'

Tensions between the US and China again ratcheted up last month after Washington accused Beijing of sending a spy balloon that was shot down over the American East Coast.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken cancelled a trip to Beijing in the wake of the incident and said over the weekend that the United States was concerned China would provide weapons to Russia for its fight against Ukraine.

China, which has declared a “no limits” friendship with Russia, has pointedly refused to criticise Moscow’s actions, blaming the US and NATO for provoking the Kremlin, and has blasted the punishing sanctions imposed on Russia. Russia, in turn, has strongly backed China over Taiwan.

On a visit to Moscow on Tuesday, the Communist Party's top diplomat Wang Yi said relations between Moscow and Beijing are “solid as a rock” and will “stand the test of the volatile international situation.”

Russia and China have an “excellent opportunity to continue close strategic cooperation and contacts to protect our shared strategic interests,” Wang said.

Chip competition with China

The congressional team held talks with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s founder Morris Chang, considered the father of the island’s world-leading microchip industry that is now investing heavily in US production.

They were filmed by Taiwan's private TVBS television station entering the offices of the body the US uses to oversee relations with Taiwan in lieu of formal diplomatic ties. Washington cut formal relations in 1979 in order to establish ties with Beijing, but remains the island's chief political and military ally.

China has increasingly lashed back at the increase in exchanges with Taiwan by officials and elected representatives from the US and other democratic nations. China's campaign of diplomatic isolation has left Taiwan with just 14 formal allies, although it retains robust unofficial relations with dozens of other countries.

Last Thursday, China imposed trade and investment sanctions against Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Technologies Corp.’s Raytheon Missiles and Defense, barring them from importing goods into China or making new investments in the country.

The Ministry of Commerce declared they had been added to the “unreliable entity” list of companies whose activities are restricted because they might endanger national sovereignty, security or development interests. It wasn’t clear what impact the penalties would have.

SOURCE: AP