TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council on Friday urged China not to change the “status quo” around waters near Taiwan-controlled Kinmen islands by sending coast guard boats into restricted areas.
“The current situation across the Strait should be controllable,” the council’s deputy head and spokesman Jan Jyh-horng told a press conference.
China said this week it would boost its defence spending by 7.2% this year, fuelling a military budget that has more than doubled under President Xi Jinping’s 11 years in office as Beijing hardens its stance on Taiwan.
(Reporting by Yimou Lee; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
