Taiwan imbroglio
China’s ruling Communist Party claims the self governing democracy of Taiwan as its own territory despite never having controlled it, and has not ruled out taking the island by force.
China’s ruling Communist Party claims the self governing democracy of Taiwan as its own territory despite never having controlled it, and has not ruled out taking the island by force.
A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Sunday slammed US arms sales to Taiwan and strongly condemned its attempt to weaponise the region.
The United States approved a USD 385 million arms sale to Taiwan on Friday, continuing its efforts to strengthen military relations with the island nation, a move that has raised concerns in China, Al Jazeera reported.
Taiwan on Monday strongly condemned China for launching large-scale military drills around the island nation and appealed to all nations to take note of Beijing's ''authoritarian and expansionist'' behaviour.
Taiwan has sought to join hands with India and other partners to safeguard peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific, and strengthen the global supply chain in line with the rules-based international order.
The delegation led by Andrew Hsia, vice chairman of Taiwan's opposition Kuomintang (KMT), left for a visit to China on Wednesday, reports dpa news agency.
Through joint military operations by the armed forces in the sea and air space around the island, the combat capability of the army had been "effectively tested", dpa news agency quoted the PLA as saying on Wednesday evening.
The PLA Eastern Theater Command said it had successfully completed various missions during recent drills around Taiwan and effectively tested the troops' joint operation combat capacity, state media outlet Global Times reported.
"We will work with the greatest sincerity and exert our utmost efforts to achieve peaceful reunification," dpa news agency quoted a white paper on the Taiwan issue published by the Chinese government as saying.
The drill was designed to simulate Taiwan's defence against an attack by China's People's Liberation Army.
