China: Taiwan is 'not Ukraine'
3 Min Read
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has called on the island to increase vigilance on military activities.
-
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen
China's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that Taiwan is "not Ukraine" and has always been an inalienable part of China.
On her account, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has called on the island to increase vigilance on military activities, as a result of the Ukrainian crisis.
The remarks follow British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's warning last week about the damaging global consequences if Western nations fail to fulfill their promises to support Ukraine's independence.
The west is waging a military and information war on China which increased military activity near the island in recent years. Meanwhile, Taiwan has reported no unusual maneuvers by Chinese forces as tensions over Ukraine have risen.
Hua Chunying, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson in Beijing, denied any connection between the Ukraine and Taiwan issues.
She said that "Taiwan is not Ukraine," saying that "Taiwan has always been an inalienable part of China. This is an indisputable legal and historical fact."
The Taiwan issue is a relic of the civil war, but China's integrity should never have been and has never been, jeopardized, Hua added.
Taiwan, according to Tsai, is an independent state known as the Republic of China, which is still Taiwan's official name.
Tsai told a meeting of her National Security Council's working group on the Ukraine crisis that all security and military units "must increase their surveillance and early warning of military developments around the Taiwan Strait."
Taiwan and Ukraine are fundamentally different in terms of geostrategic planning, geography, and international supply chains, she said, according to meeting details provided by her office.
"But in the face of foreign forces intending to manipulate the situation in Ukraine and affect the morale of Taiwanese society, all government units must strengthen the prevention of cognitive warfare launched by foreign forces and local collaborators," it quoted Tsai as saying.
The statement did not mention China by name, but the country is allegedly Taiwan's most significant military threat.
Tsai has expressed "empathy" for Ukraine's situation in light of China's "military threat" to the island.
In early February, Taiwan thanked the US Tuesday for selling up to $100 million worth of equipment and services to support its air and missile defense systems.
Thus, Taiwan intends to maintain its strategy of close ties with the US to prevent any closeness from China. Washington diplomatically recognizes Beijing over Taipei but it is also bound by Congress to sell Taiwan weapons to "defend itself".
It is noteworthy that China considers the island of Taiwan an integral part of its territory and thus has long sought to reincorporate it into the mainland.
Beijing tried to reclaim the island of Taiwan multiple times. Just southwest of Taiwan, Hainan Island, another island that almost matches Taiwan's size extends along the Chinese mainland, and China reincorporated it in 1950.
