China considers Taiwan, an autonomous democratic island, to be part of its territory and opposes any international recognition of the island.
Lai Ching-te will leave on Saturday to visit the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau – the only Pacific nations among Taiwan’s 12 remaining allies.
This will be his first trip abroad since taking office in May.
Taiwanese officials have already stopped on American soil during trips to the Pacific or Latin America, arousing the anger of Chinese leaders.
In response to the announcement of this trip, Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Defense, declared “firmly opposed to any official interaction with the Taiwan region in any form.”
“The Chinese (military) has the sacred mission of protecting national sovereignty and territorial integrity and will resolutely crush all secessionist attempts for Taiwan’s independence,” said Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Chinese Defense Ministry. , during a press conference Thursday.
Taiwan’s military deployed aircraft, ships and coastal missile systems late Thursday after detecting 19 Chinese aircraft near the island, according to Taiwan’s Defense Ministry.
Fifteen of these planes crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, which separates the two territories, in coordination with Chinese warships as part of a “joint combat readiness patrol”, the statement said.
– Meeting with “old friends” –
Lai Ching-te will spend two nights in Hawaii and one night in Guam, meeting “old friends” and “members of think tanks”, a presidential source told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Communist China, which has never governed Taiwan, seeks to erase the island from the international stage, preventing it from participating in international forums and pressuring businesses to list the island as a “Chinese province”. ” on their websites.
Taiwan competes in international sporting events under the name Chinese Taipei and draws Beijing’s ire when Taiwanese officials meet with foreign politicians or government officials.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Thursday that Lai’s planned visits were “separatist actions.”
“We have always opposed official exchanges between the United States and Taiwan (…) and any form of approval and support by the United States of Taiwan separatists,” declared Mao Ning, spokesperson. word from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during a regular press conference.
– A hemorrhage among the allies –
In recent decades, Taiwan has lost many allies who have rallied behind a rising China with greater means to provide aid and investment.
The United States is Taiwan’s most important partner and main security supporter, but does not recognize Taipei diplomatically.
Lai Ching-te’s predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen, had already passed through Hawaii and Guam during her first official visit to her Pacific allies in 2017.
Tsai Ing-wen also met Kevin McCarthy, then Speaker of the US House of Representatives, in California in April 2023 during a trip to Latin America, to which Beijing responded with military exercises around the island.
Tensions between China and Taiwan have increased since Lai Ching-te took office in May.
Both Tsai Ing-wen and Lai Ching-te belong to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai Ching-te has been more direct in his defense of the island’s sovereignty, with Beijing calling him a “separatist.”
The dispute between Beijing and Taipei dates back to 1949, when Chiang Kai-shek’s nationalist forces lost the civil war to Mao Tse-tung’s communist fighters and took refuge in Taiwan.
China and Taiwan have been governed separately since, but Beijing has not ruled out the use of force to seize the island.
Although Taiwan considers itself a sovereign nation and has its own government, military and currency, it has never formally declared independence and lives under constant threat of invasion by China.
In recent years, China has increased its military activity around the island to pressure Taipei into accepting its sovereignty claims.
The United States and China have long been at odds over Taiwan, an island of 23 million people that has evolved into a vibrant democracy and a powerhouse in the semiconductor industry.
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