PRC Representative for Taiwan Affairs: Situation in the Taiwan Strait will become more difficult
The situation in the Taiwan Strait will become more complex and difficult next year. This was stated by the representative of the Office of the State Council of the PRC for Taiwan Affairs Ma Xiaoguang, reports Reuters.
Taiwan's provocations and outside interference could become “sharper and more intense” in the coming months, the Chinese official said. He threatened Taipei with drastic measures in the event of Taiwan's steps towards independence.
“If separatist forces in Taiwan seeking independence provoke, use force, or even cross the red line, we will have to take decisive action,” said Ma Xiaoguang.
Earlier it became known that the United States will invite Taiwan to the largest joint exercises of the countries of the Asia-Pacific region (APR) RIMPAC in 2022. Karl Schuster, a former chief of operations at the United States Pacific Command's Joint Intelligence Center, believes the move is a political signal to China.
Relations between China and Taiwan began to deteriorate in 2016, after the Democratic Progressive Party candidate Tsai Ing-wen came to power in the unrecognized Republic of China. Despite the loss of world diplomatic recognition, Taiwan de facto remains a state that has its own armed forces, government agencies and currency. The Chinese leadership does not recognize the statehood of Taiwan and considers its government to be separatist.
