China yesterday urged the world to stop drawing parallels between Taiwan and Ukraine, part of Beijing’s efforts to distance itself from Russia and portray itself as a neutral force for peace.
“China is deeply worried about the escalation of the Ukraine conflict and it possibly spiraling out of control,” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Qin Gang (秦剛) said in remarks in Beijing to roll out Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) new “Global Security Initiative.”
“We urge certain countries to immediately stop fueling the fire, stop shifting blame to China and stop touting ‘Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow,’” Qin added.
Photo: Reuters
China in the past few days has stepped up efforts to draw a distinction between Ukraine and Taiwan, while rejecting US claims that it is privately considering providing weapons to support Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war effort.
Beijing plans to unveil a peace proposal in the coming days, an initiative met with skepticism among the US and its allies.
China’s stance has generated concern in the US and Europe.
Asked at the Munich Security Conference at the weekend whether China could reassure that audience that there would be no attack on Taiwan, Chinese Central Foreign Affairs Commission Director Wang Yi (王毅) said that peace would hinge on opposing independence forces in Taiwan.
“It was never a country and it will absolutely not be a country as well,” Wang said of Taiwan. “That is the true reality of the Taiwan issue.”
Meanwhile, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs James Cleverly on Monday said he had spoken with Qin and discussed the importance of peace in the Taiwan Strait.
“I raised China’s human rights abuses in Xinjiang & the need for peace in the Taiwan Strait,” Cleverly wrote on Twitter. “We also agreed to work together to resolve issues on climate and trade.”
Qin, who was appointed as foreign minister in December last year, told Cleverly that China poses no challenge or threat to Britain, Xinhua news agency reported.
Qin said that a sound China-Britain relationship not only serves both of their interests, but also contributes to world peace and development, Xinhua said.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
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