Monitoring Desk
BEIJING: China on Wednesday angrily criticized a visit by a senior Pentagon official to Taiwan and reaffirmed it has sanctioned a unit of Raytheon and Lockheed Martin for supplying military hardware to the self-governing Taiwan. The comments to this effect from the Cabinet’s Taiwan Affairs Office underscore the dramatic decline in relations between Washington and Beijing over spying allegations, Taiwan, technology and increasingly Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Asked about the reported visit by deputy assistant secretary of defense for China Michael Chase, office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian said China “resolutely opposes any official interaction and military collaboration” between Taiwan and the US. Efforts by the Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party to strengthen the island democracy’s independence with the help of foreign assistance are “doomed to failure,” Zhu told the reporters.
China considers Taiwan part of its territory to be brought under its control. The sides split amid the civil war in 1949, while the China’s Communist Party has never held control over the island.
A spokesperson for Pentagon didn’t comment directly on Chase’s visit to Taiwan, repeating “our commitment to Taiwan is rock-solid and contributes to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and within the region.” Foreign Affairs Ministry of Taiwan has said it had no information about any such visit.
Tensions between China and the US again escalated in January after Washington accused Beijing of sending a spy balloon that was shot down over the American east coast. Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State, canceled a trip to Beijing in the wake of the incident and said that the US was concerned China would supply weapons to Russia for its war against Ukraine.
China has declared a “no limits” friendship with Russia and pointedly declined to criticize Moscow’s actions, blaming the United States and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for provoking the Kremlin, and also blasted the punishing sanctions against Russia. Russia, in turn, has strongly supported China over Taiwan.
Top diplomat’s visit to Moscow
The Communist Party’s top diplomat Wang Yi, during a visit to Moscow on Tuesday, said relations between Beijing and Moscow are “solid as a rock” and will “stand the test of the volatile international situation.”
China and Russia have an “excellent opportunity to continue close strategic cooperation and contacts to protect our shared strategic interests,” Wang said.
Also, this week, a delegation of United States lawmakers visiting Taiwan met with President Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday, who said she looked for increased cooperation on issues from climate change to security.
On Monday, the delegation met with the head of the legislature during their five-day visit. They include Reps. Ro Khanna of California, Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts, Tony Gonzales of Texas and Jonathan Jackson of Illinois.
The congressional team held talks with the founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Morris Chang who is considered the father of the island’s world-leading microchip industry that is now investing heavily in United States production. Auchincloss and Khanna are both members of the new House select committee focused on competition with China.
Amid the spell of exchanges, Joseph Wu, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister and head of the National Security Council Wellington Koo were in US/Washington Tuesday for what are probably to be security meetings. They were caught on camera by Taiwan’s private TVBS television station entering the offices of the body the United States uses to oversee relations with Taiwan in lieu of formal diplomatic relations. Washington cut formal ties in 1979 in order to establish relations with Beijing, but remains the island’s chief military and political ally.
Last Thursday, China imposed investment and trade sanctions on Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Technologies Corp.’s Raytheon Missiles and Defense, restricting them from importing goods into China and also making new investments in the country. According to the Ministry of Commerce they had been added to the “unreliable entity” list of companies whose activities are restricted because they might endanger sovereignty, development interests and national security.
