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The United States on Thursday warned that China’s military activities and rhetoric toward Taiwan and others in the region “unnecessarily” increase tensions.
State Department spokesperson Thomas Pigott urged Beijing to exercise restraint, cease its military pressure against Taiwan, and engage in meaningful dialogue.
Reiterating support for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, the U.S. articulated its opposition to unilateral changes to the status quo, “including by force or coercion.”
Reacting, Russia stated that its “principled position” on the Taiwan issue is established, remains unchanged, and has repeatedly been reaffirmed at the highest level.
“Russia recognizes Taiwan as an integral part of China and stands against the island’s independence in any form,” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declared this week.
In an interview with TASS, Lavrov described the Taiwan issue as “an internal affair of the PRC,” emphasizing that Beijing has every right to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Taiwan, according to the diplomat, is being used as a tool of military-strategic deterrence against China by certain countries “pursuing vested interests.”
Lavrov accused some Western nations of trying to profit from Taiwanese money and technologies, citing “expensive” U.S. armaments sold to Taipei “at market prices.”
He added that demands to transfer Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturing to America may be regarded as coercion for income redistribution or a sort of business alienation.
There are concerns that once the Ukraine conflict is over, an armed confrontation may flare up in the Asia-Pacific region amid the Japan-China tensions, and China’s territorial claim of Taiwan.
President Lai Ching-te has vowed to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty, with the military increasing combat preparedness drills, including placing explosive barrels at the Tamsui River to forestall landings.
In his New Year’s Day address, Ching-te confirmed national defense is being strengthened, alongside deterrence mechanisms, and urged the legislature to pass an eight-year special defense budget of $40 billion.
Meanwhile, China has sanctioned 20 United States military-related companies and 10 senior executives following the announcement of large-scale arms sales to Taiwan.
In a decree issued on December 26, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said the sales violate the one-China principle, three China-U.S. joint communiqués, and undermine China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
China’s military drills around Taiwan elicit US, Russia reactions
