By Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard
TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s top politician in China said on Wednesday that Chinese military threats would only drive the two sides further apart, while state media in the island’s giant neighbor warned of a strong reaction to a US visit by Taiwan’s president.
China, which claims democratic Taiwan as its territory, expressed anger over President Lai Ching-te’s weekend trip to Hawaii on a trip to three Pacific nations that maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taipei.
Lai, who is also scheduled to spend a night in the US territory of Guam on Wednesday, is making what are formally only stopovers. However, he spent two days in Hawaii where he met with the governor, gave speeches and visited a World War II memorial.
Security sources told Reuters that China could mount new military operations around Taiwan as early as this weekend in response to the trip.
Speaking to reporters in Taipei, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said Lai’s trip to strengthen friendship with other countries was something Taiwan publicly supported.
“But the Chinese Communists are threatening Taiwan with military hegemony, which our citizens do not agree with,” he said.
“This will only cause the relationship between the two sides of the strait to drift further and further apart, and that will not help the relationship in the future.”
The international community should take China’s military exercises and threats seriously, he added.
Lai and his government reject Beijing’s claims to sovereignty and say they have the right to engage with the rest of the world.
China calls Lai a “separatist” and has staged two rounds of military exercises around Taiwan since he took office in May. The Chinese military also operates around Taiwan on a daily basis.
‘STRONG COUNTERMEASURES’
In a commentary on its website on Wednesday, Chinese state television said the real purpose of Lai’s transits was to “rely on the United States to seek independence,” showing that he is a real destroyer of peace in the Taiwan Strait.
“Lai is well aware that his ‘transit’ in the United States will be met with resolute opposition and strong countermeasures from the mainland side, which will only exacerbate the tense situation in the Taiwan Strait,” it said.
Taiwanese presidents typically make transit stops in the United States on their way to and from distant allies in the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, a routine practice the United States says is done for security and practical reasons.
Chinese state television said it was just a pretext for Taiwan to “legitimize” the trip.
“This is pushing Taiwan step by step into an even more dangerous situation,” it added.
Speaking to reporters at the parliament in Taipei, Director General of Taiwan’s National Security Bureau Tsai Ming-yen noted a recent increase in Chinese military activity in the region, including joint exercises with Russia last week near Japan.
Tsai said China is probably trying to achieve two things.
“One is to test the bottom line of the United States and its allies during the American transition of power,” he said, referring to the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump next month.
“The second is that the Chinese Communist Army is still in the process of an internal purge of its generals and is using the training to draw domestic attention.”
China’s defense ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The ministry said last week that Miao Hua, a senior military official, had been suspended and was being investigated for a “serious breach of discipline”.
China’s military has undergone a sweeping anti-corruption purge since last year, with at least nine People’s Liberation Army generals and several defense industry executives removed from the national legislature.
