A spokesman for the Taiwanese Affairs Office in China warned of a practical response to US and Taiwanese provocations, and an official Chinese newspaper reported the possibility of Chinese fighter jets flying over Taiwan.
The Chinese government has warned Taiwanese separatists that they will take action if their provocative actions continue with US support.
According to the Rasha Today website, Ma Xiaogang, a spokesman for the Taiwanese Bureau of Public Affairs in China, said on Wednesday that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (TPF) exercises in the Taiwan Strait were a “combat exercise” necessary to preserve China’s “national sovereignty.”
The Chinese official warned: “These Chinese military training operations send the message that we are determined to oppose Taiwan’s independence and the collusion between Taiwan and the United States, and this will not be just a matter of words.”
On the other hand, Hu Shijing, editor of the Global Times, a newspaper close to the Chinese Communist Party, wrote in a note that if US-Taiwan relations deepen, Chinese fighter jets will fly over Taiwan to assert their “sovereignty.”
Beijing considers Taiwan a part of China, and considers US moves and arms sales to Taiwan a violation of its sovereignty and contrary to the “one China” policy. However, the United States is effectively supporting the island by sending ships to the Strait of Taiwan and providing military assistance to Taiwan, and Beijing has repeatedly protested. However, UN member states, including the United States, do not recognize Taiwan as an independent state.
As China warns the United States about interfering in Taiwan’s affairs, US President Joe Biden has sent a three-member delegation to the island, including former Senate and State Department officials, media reported today.
Meanwhile, the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry announced that the plane carrying the American delegation is scheduled to land at Taiwan’s Songshan Airport on Wednesday afternoon (local time today).