UPDATES WITH CHINA'S REACTION
By Anadolu staff
ANKARA (AA) - Taiwan's leader Lai Ching-te, who is on a three-nation Asia Pacific trip, convened a national security meeting via video conference on Wednesday following a deepening political crisis in South Korea.
Lai, who is currently in the US territory of Guam, was briefed about the evolving situation in South Korea, following President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed attempt to impose martial law, Taipei-based Central News Agency reported.
Lai directed his national security team to maintain constant contact with other "democratic partners" to closely monitor developments in the aftermath of the aborted attempt to impose martial law in South Korea.
The leader also instructed the team to assess the "potential risks and impact" on security, geopolitics, and economics in the region and to be prepared to respond accordingly.
Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Tuesday retracted its comparison between Taipei's legislative situation and South Korea's martial law decision, as the DPP is also in the minority in the regional parliament, known as Legislative Yuan.
In a Tuesday social media post, the DPP claimed that Taiwan’s legislature was facing a situation akin to the one that led South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to declare martial law in his country, according to Focus Taiwan.
The post was subsequently removed from social media platforms.
However, the party later shared a new post, distancing itself from the martial law comparison.
Separately, Lai spoke with US House Speaker Mike Johnson during his stopover in Guam, according to local broadcaster TaiwanPlus News.
He also held a phone call with US House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. The two leaders emphasized strong bi-partisan support for Taiwan in Congress, Taiwan's Presidential Office said in a statement
- China urges Washington to stop interfering in Beijing’s 'internal affairs'
Reacting to Lai's conversation with Johnson, China urged Washington to refrain from interfering with Beijing’s "internal affairs, and stop sending any wrong signal to ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces."
"In recent weeks, we have made clear our serious opposition more than once to the US’s arranging for Lai Ching-te’s ‘stopovers’ and having official interactions with the Taiwan region," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters.
Lin stressed that the Taiwan question is central to China's core interests and the "first red line that cannot be crossed in China-US relations."
"We urge the US to fully understand the grave damage that ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist activities do to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, fully abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communique, act on the US leaders’ commitments, including not supporting ‘Taiwan independence’,” he added.
China, he added, will take "resolute" and "strong" measures to defend its national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
*Writing by Aamir Latif