China urges US to not allow Taiwan's president transit stopovers

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – China on Friday asked the US to not allow Taiwan's president transit stopovers on US soil during his upcoming visit to Pacific nations, state media reported.

“We urge the US to adhere to the one-China principle and the three joint communiques between China and the US, not allow (President William Lai Ching-te) Lai's ‘transit,' and refrain from sending any wrong signals to the ‘Taiwan independence’ forces,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters in Beijing.

The statement came after reports claimed Lai was planning to stop in Hawaii and possibly Guam island on a visit to Taipei's diplomatic allies in the Pacific.

There has been no official statement from Taiwan on Lai’s reported visit.

However, Beijing urged the US to “take concrete actions to safeguard China-US relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits.”

“The one-China principle is a widely accepted consensus in the international community and the Taiwan authorities' attempt to use so-called ‘diplomatic allies’ for political manipulation and provocations aimed at seeking ‘Taiwan independence’ is futile,” said Lin.

China considers Taiwan as “breakaway province” while Taipei has insisted on its independence since 1949.

Over the years, the number of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies has dropped to 12.

However, Washington and Taipei have increased engagement in recent years with weapons and arms worth billions of dollars supplied to the island nations, which sit south of the Chinese mainland across the Taiwan Strait, by the US.

On Friday, China's ambassador to Washington Xie Feng told the US-China Hong Kong Forum that Taiwan was the “biggest flashpoint” between the two nations.

Any attempt to "use the island as leverage with Beijing will only backfire," said Xie.

Chinese Defense Ministry Friday urged Washington to "cease its dangerous actions jeopardizing peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits" by arming Taipei.

Since 2021, the Biden administration has approved some 17 arms shipments to Taiwan.

Warning Li-led ruling Democratic Progressive Party that buying weapons was "futile and will only court self-destruction," Ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang said: "The People's Liberation Army will enhance combat readiness and the ability to fight and win, and firmly thwart any attempt for 'Taiwan independence' and any interference by external forces."