TAIPEI, April 17 (Reuters) – China’s regular military activities around Taiwan are “entirely justified and reasonable” and any tensions are the fault of the government in Taipei, the Chinese defence ministry said in a rare comment on Friday.
China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, sends its warships and warplanes into the waters and skies around the island on an almost daily basis, to the condemnation of the Taiwanese government.
China generally does not provide regular commentary on its daily activities near Taiwan.
Chinese Defence Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang told reporters that Taiwan was an “inalienable part of Chinese territory”.
“The People’s Liberation Army organises training and exercise activities in the waters and airspace around the Taiwan island to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, which is entirely justified, reasonable, and a matter of course,” he said.
It was Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party which “distorts” Chinese activities, “peddling war anxiety, intimidating the people on the island, and stoking confrontation and antagonism across the Taiwan Strait”, he added.
China refuses to speak to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, saying he is a “separatist”. He says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.
Speaking at a military base in southern Taiwan earlier on Friday, Lai said while everyone hoped for peace, only through strength can true peace be achieved, and reiterated a call for the opposition-dominated parliament to pass his stalled $40 billion special defence budget.
“Only through continuous preparedness can we deter threats – by being ready to fight in order to avoid fighting, and by being capable of fighting in order to stop war,” Lai said.
The United States, Taiwan’s main source of arms, has backed Lai’s defence spending push.
China has repeatedly called on Washington to stop selling Taiwan weapons.
Zhang said Lai was using Taiwan’s people’s money to “pledge loyalty to and curry favour with the United States”.
“What they truly care about is whether they can make more money, and they are not above profiting from war,” he added, referring to the United States.
(Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Writing and additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Editing by Alex Richardson)
