China yesterday warned against continued Taiwan-US cooperation, responding to reports that the US military was sending officers to help train Taiwanese counterparts and that a delegation of defense contractors would be visiting the nation next week.
“We resolutely oppose the US having any form of official or military contact with China’s Taiwan region,” China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) told a weekly news briefing in Beijing.
Taiwan has never been part of the People’s Republic of China, but the Chinese Communist Party says it is obliged to unite with China, by force if necessary.
Photo: CNA
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government has flown fighter jets and bombers near Taiwan in increasing numbers, and fired missiles into the sea in an attempt to intimidate the nation.
Taiwanese media reported this month that the US had sent 200 military personnel, mostly marines, to help train Taiwanese troops.
The Ministry of National Defense has neither denied nor confirmed the report.
Meanwhile, a delegation of about 25 defense contractors is visiting the nation next week, hosted by the US-Taiwan Business Council.
Nikkei Asia reported that the weapons manufacturers would discuss joint production of drones and ammunition in Taiwan.
“US defense contractors intentionally provoke confrontation between the two sides, taking the opportunity to make a profit,” Zhu said.
She accused the Democratic Progressive Party, which has been in power for six years, of colluding with the US to press for formal Taiwanese independence.
The US does not formally recognize the Taiwanese government, but is Taipei’s most vital provider of weapons and other security assistance, as well as political support.
China has turned up the heat by sending fighter jets and navy vessels near the nation on a near-daily basis, especially in response to political meetings between Taiwan and the US.
Earlier this month, China held large-scale military exercises simulating a strike on key targets in Taiwan in response to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) meeting with US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California.
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