Taiwan independence: China threatens to go to war, says report

China’s defence minister complained to his American counterpart on Friday about the latest US arms package for Taiwan and warned of a possible conflict over the self—governing island that China claims as its own territory.

Chinese Defense Minister Gen Wei Fenghe told US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in a meeting in Singapore that the sale “seriously undermined China’s sovereignty and security interests,” said CCTV’s military channel.

China “firmly opposes and strongly condemns it,” and the Chinese government and military will “resolutely smash any Taiwan independence plot and resolutely safeguard the reunification of the motherland,” Wei said.

China and Taiwan split during a civil war in 1949 and China threatens to use force to annex the island republic.

Despite their lack of formal diplomatic ties, Washington is Taiwan’s strongest backer and source of arms, and US law requires it to treat threats to the island as matters of “grave concern.” In the latest arms package, the US announced Wednesday the sale of parts for Taiwanese naval ships at an estimated cost of $120 million.

In other comments, Wei warned against “using Taiwan to control China,” and laid out a list of conditions the US must meet for ties to improve, including “not interfering in China’s internal affairs or harming China’s interests.” 

In a further readout of the meeting, Defence Ministry spokesperson Col Wu Qian quoted Wei as saying China would respond to any move toward formal Taiwan independence by “smashing it even at any price, including war”. Wu also accused “outside powers” of stirring up trouble in the South China Sea, which China claims virtually in its entirety, and said Beijing would “resolutely counter” any effort to harm China’s interests over the issue of Ukraine.