Seeking 'Taiwan independence' leads to dead end: FM spokesperson

BEIJING - China firmly opposes official and military ties in any form between the United States and China's Taiwan region, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Thursday, noting that seeking "Taiwan independence" leads to a dead end, and so does supporting "Taiwan independence".

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a press conference when asked to comment on Tsai Ing-wen confirming the presence of a small number of US troops in Taiwan to help with training.

Wang said the one-China principle is the political foundation of China-US relations. "On the Taiwan question, the US should abide by the one-China principle and the stipulations of the three China-US joint communiques, rather than unilaterally concoct anything."

"We firmly oppose official and military ties in any form between the US and the Taiwan region, and oppose the US interference in China's internal affairs," Wang said.

He said the US vessels have repeatedly flexed its muscles to make provocations and stir up troubles in the Taiwan Strait in recent times, sending gravely wrong signals to the "Taiwan independence" forces and threatening cross-Strait peace and stability.

The international community is clear-eyed about who is engaging in "coercion" on the Taiwan question, Wang said.

"The cross-Strait reunification is an overriding historical trend and the right course, while 'Taiwan independence' is a retrogression leading to a dead end," Wang said.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority's acts of seeking "Taiwan independence" can not change the iron-clad fact that Taiwan is a part of China, neither will it shake the international community's universal and firm commitment to the one-China principle, he said. "Those who forget their heritage, betray their motherland, and seek to split the country will come to no good end."

Wang noted that seeking "Taiwan independence" leads to a dead end, and so does supporting "Taiwan independence". "No country and no one should underestimate the resolve, the will, and the ability of the Chinese people to defend their national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Otherwise, they will suffer another defeat."