Latin American Summary, May 24, 2024.
The Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs emphasized the principle of one China and defended the legitimacy of the military deterrent maneuvers.
The Chinese Minister of Defense, Wu Qian, declared this Friday that the two-day military maneuvers of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army near Taiwan, a territory that Beijing claims as part of itself, are legitimate and necessary, and conveyed to the authorities of the separatist island does not push its population into armed conflict.
In statements to the media, Wu stated that when the new head of the Taiwan Administration, William Lai Ching-te, who took office last Monday, “seriously challenged the ‘one China’ principle.”
The official accused the separatist island’s leader of “openly promoting the ‘two Chinas’ theory” and having tried “in vain to achieve independence through military force and relying on external forces, thus pushing fellow Taiwanese into a dangerous war situation.”
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Joint exercises around Taiwan began this Thursday with the participation of land, naval, air and missile forces, to test the level of troops’ readiness for combat.
The maneuvers began after Lai Ching-te, upon being sworn in, urged China to cooperate with the Taiwanese executive in order to preserve the status of that territory as a completely independent entity. He said that Beijing threatens the island, in the face of which Taiwan must demonstrate its determination to defend itself and strengthen its defensive capacity, he said.
Wu Quian asserted that the military exercises “are intended to combat the wantonness and arrogance of those who aspire to Taiwan’s independence, as well as to deter the intervention of external forces. The exercises are fully appropriate, legal, necessary and justified.”
He added “the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, through practical actions, protects state sovereignty and territorial integrity. “Once there is a challenge to Taiwan’s independence, our response measures will continue until the complete reunification of our homeland is achieved.”
He emphasized that the new head of Taiwan relies on the help of external forces to achieve independence, alluding to the United States, and with these actions he pushes the island into a war.
On the other hand, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin advised the United States not to interfere and not make “irresponsible comments.”
Wang said: “The root cause of tensions across the Taiwan Strait lies in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities’ attempt to ‘rely on the United States and seek independence.’ At the same time, some voices in the United States are trying to ‘use Taiwan to contain China’ under the pretext of maintaining regional peace and stability.”
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The foreign spokesman said that if the United States truly wants peace and stability in the region, it must unequivocally adhere to the one-China principle and oppose Taiwanese separatism.
China’s Defense Ministry has warned that it will take countermeasures again against Taiwan if separatist forces continue to try to achieve independence and even achieve complete reunification of the country.
Source: TeleSUR.
