China to US: Do not play with fire on Taiwan

BEIJING: China on Tuesday asked the United States to stop playing with Taiwan by fire and Washington filed a complaint after issuing guidelines that enabled U.S. officials to meet more freely with the island’s officials China, which is claimed by China itself.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian

Friday’s decision by the US State Department to deepen relations with self-governing Taiwan led to steps, including an almost daily air force incursion into Taiwan’s air defense zone, amid Chinese military activity around the island.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters that he had lodged a “rigorous representation” with the United States.

China urges the United States not to “play with fire on the Taiwan issue, immediately stop any form of US-Taiwan official contacts, handle the matter carefully and appropriately, and do not send false signals to Taiwan independence forces” So as not to have a subversive effect. ” He said peace and stability in China-US relations lie in the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwan is China’s most sensitive regional and diplomatic issue and China-U.S. Is a regular source of China has never abandoned the use of force to bring a democratically ruled island under its control.

Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced days before former President Donald Trump’s presidency ended in January that he was lifting restrictions on contacts between US officials and their Taiwanese counterparts.

While Washington officially considers Beijing rather than Taipei, like most countries, the United States is Taiwan’s most important international supporter and arms seller.

The United States is required by law to defend the island on its own.

China believes the US is teaming up with Taiwan to challenge Beijing and support those who want the islands to declare formal independence.

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen says that the island is an independent country called the Republic of China, its formal name, and that it will protect its independence and security.