China's armed forces protest US Senator's Taiwan visit, say 'we ready for war anytime'

As the US Senator's Taiwan visit irked Beijing, Chinese armed forces expressed that they would be willing to start military operations at any instance, to defend the country’s sovereignty. According to Russian news agency TASS, Chinese Defence Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian said that the recent actions by the US “seriously violate" the ‘one China’ principle. His remarks come in line with the Chinese Communist Party’s authoritarian policy which consider Taiwan as its own territory. 

Wu said, "These actions by the United States seriously violated the One China principle."

“The People’s Republic of China expresses its resolute protest in this regard. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army is always ready for war and we can start military operations any time and will firmly defend the national sovereignty and the territorial integrity of our country," the Chinese Defence Ministry spokesperson said. 

Wu further specified that China’s People’s Liberation Army “will resolutely put an end to external interference and any attempts by Taiwanese separatists to achieve the so-called independence of Taiwan." He continued to stress, “It is necessary by all means to ensure the Motherland’s unity”.

It is to mention here that China has never ruled Taiwan and the island has been governed by its local administration since 1949. However, China has continued to emphasise that Taiwan is its own “breakaway province”. Moreover, Chinese officials have repeatedly stated that Beijing can use force to claim authority over the self-ruled democratic island.

Taiwanese Premier tells US Senator China ‘biggest threat’

Earlier, United States Senators Rick Scott arrived in Taiwan when the island’s Premier Su Tseng-chang told the American lawmaker that the Taiwanese would not recoil in the face of Chinese ambition to annex the island. During the meeting between Su and Scott, Taiwan’s Premier described China as “the biggest threat”, according to a Focus Taiwan report.

Su also said that Taiwan would continue to seek US cooperation on the island’s security matters with the hope of contributing to a peaceful Indo-Pacific region. Su’s remarks came on the same day as Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) flagged concerns over Chinese jets crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait on Friday in “an act of provocation." Scott also condemned the incident publicly. 

The US Senator said, “I strongly condemn Communist China’s military aggression toward Taiwan. These shameful intimidation tactics will never weaken my unwavering commitment to supporting freedom & democracy for ALL & protecting the national security interests of the United States”.

Image: Twitter/AP