China Warns Taiwan: Independence Means War | NOW

China warned Taiwan in clear terms on Thursday. “Independence means war,” said a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Defense, who also recalled that the Communist People’s Republic considers the island as Chinese territory.

The warning comes at a sensitive time. Taiwan reported Chinese fighter jets and bombers maneuvering near the island over the weekend. This has raised concerns in the United States, where new President Joe Biden has just taken office.

The Chinese ministry called the flights a response to “foreign interference and provocations from the forces pushing for Taiwan independence.” The spokesman also said that the Chinese military would take all necessary measures to suppress a “separatist plot”. He expressed hope that the United States will avoid confrontation.

Taiwan has effectively been an independent country since the mid-twentieth century. After losing the Chinese Civil War to the Communists, the Nationalists fled mainland China to the island of Taiwan in the late 1940s, where they established their own state. It is called the “Republic of China”.