Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said it has so far detected no new military actions by China after Beijing condemned Taiwan Vice President William Lai’s stopovers in the United States. The representative of the Executive of Taiwan was going to Paraguay for the swearing in of his new presidency of Santiago Peña.
The Chinese government condemned this Sunday the stopover made in the United States by the Vice President of Taiwan. According to a statement from the Foreign Ministry, the Chinese authorities will take “strong measures to safeguard their sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Now this Tuesday, the spokesman for the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense, Sun Li-fang pointed out that no large-scale maneuvers or exercises by the Chinese Army have been detected so far. In addition, the Vice President of Taiwan is expected to make another stop in San Francisco before returning to his country.
“This does not mean that we are going to let down our guard or our determination to be prepared for conflict. Our responsibility is to track any activity by China near Taiwan. We uphold the principle of ‘not fearing the enemy and not provoking‘” Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said.
Vice President Lai arrived at the Silvio Pettirossi International Airport, located in the city of Luque and serving Asunción, Paraguay, where he was received by the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Raúl Silvero Silvagni, and the mayor of the Paraguayan capital, Óscar Rodríguez.
Lai made a stopover in New York, and after learning about the itinerary of the Taiwanese vice presidentChina said in a statement released by its Foreign Ministry that it “firmly opposes any form of official contact between the United States and Taiwan.”
For Beijing, Lai’s stopover in the United States, and a provocation intended to cause trouble, qualifies as an excuse to engage in political activity.
“The facts prove once again that the cause of the tensions in the Taiwan Straits is the insistence of the Taiwanese authorities to count on the United States to seek independence, as well as Washington’s insistence on using Taiwan to contain China.” add the note.
With information from EFE
