China fumes at growing US-Taiwan ties; claims 'US trying to build NATO in Indo-Pacific'

As Russia continues to brutally attack Ukraine, the United States along with other Western nations have been raising concerns about the possibility of China trailing Moscow's footsteps to invade Taiwan. Chinese displeasure at Washington’s intervention in the Indo-Pacific region came to the fore as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday suggested that this is President Joe Biden’s strategy to establish a new version of NATO in the Indo-Pacific region. He further warned the Biden Administration to restrain their growing links with Taiwan and averred that any attempt to do so would be thwarted.

US' interference in Indo-pacific is an attempt to establish NATO here: China

Wang Yi further denounced the White House’s growing presence in Asian polity and claimed that Washington’s actions can bring political instability in the region. This comes in as expansionist China has been involved in territorial disputes with several nations including India, and Taiwan.

“The Asia-Pacific is a promising land for cooperation and development, not a chessboard for geopolitical contest,” Wang stated.

'Taiwan will be reunited with China': Wang Yi

Adding on to growing concerns, Wang Yi went on to claim during the press conference that ‘Taiwan will eventually be reunited with Chinese motherland in the coming future.’

"Taiwan will eventually return to embrace of the motherland," Sputnik quoted Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi as saying.

Wang Yi made the remarks after he was asked about the likely developments pertaining to Taiwan after the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. However, he still dismissed the comparison and said that “the Taiwan question and the Ukraine issue are different in nature and are not comparable at all."

The United States’ growing proximity with Taiwan and its interference in the region has not suited Bejing well, as it claims Taiwan to be a part of its territory. Amidst the fear of Chinese attack, on March 2, US President Joe Biden had sent a delegation to Taiwan that included former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen, former Deputy National Security Advisor Meghan O'Sullivan, and former undersecretary of defence Michele Flournoy. The group also included National Security Council senior directors for Asian Mike Green and Evan Medeiros. The group met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and Defence Minister Chiu Ko-cheng. 

The meeting underlined "the importance of Taiwan-US relations" as Washington "emphasises regional peace and its firm support for Taiwan," Taiwanese Premier Su Tseng-chang said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Image: AP