Taiwan’s independence means war, the Chinese Ministry of Defense warned on Thursday, according to state media.
“Division does not bring peace,” ministry spokesman Wu Qian said, referring to Taiwan’s separation from mainland China.
He made the comments after large-scale Chinese military exercises around Taiwan last week following the inauguration of William Lai Ching-te as president of the island nation, which Beijing claims as its territory.
Wu said the People’s Liberation Army was “fully prepared and on standby”.
“We will take decisive action to crush any separatist attempts at ‘Taiwan independence’ and thwart any foreign interference,” Wu said, adding:
“Taiwan is part of China. How to solve the Taiwan issue is a question for 1.4 billion Chinese people, not something the US should interfere in.”
Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te said on Sunday he was ready to cooperate with Beijing, despite military exercises around the island.
Communications between China and Taiwan broke off in 2016 after former President Tsai Ing-wen took office, vowing to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty.
China claims that Taiwan is a “breakaway province”, however, Taipei has insisted on independence since 1949 and has established diplomatic relations with at least 14 countries and regions, Beta writes.
