China’s stark warning to Taiwan: seeking independence means war

China has harshly warned Taiwan that attempts to seek independence from Beijing “means war”.

The warning comes days after Beijing stepped up military activities and sent warplanes near the island. At the same time, Taiwan welcomed the new Biden administration just last week, with the US from its end reaffarming Washington’s commitment to supporting Taiwan’s defence capability.

China sees democratic Taiwan as a breakaway province, but Taiwan sees itself as a sovereign state.

“We are seriously telling those Taiwan independence forces: those who play with fire will burn themselves, and Taiwan independence means war,” Chinese defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian said at a press conference on Thursday.

He also defended China’s recent military activities saying they were “necessary actions to address the current security situation in the Taiwan Strait and to safeguard national sovereignty and security”.

via BBC