China has vowed to “fight to the very end” to stop Taiwanese independence and warned that foreign interference in Taiwan is “doomed to fail”, stoking already soaring tensions with the United States over the self-ruled island.
“If anyone dares to secede Taiwan from China, we will … fight at all costs and we will fight to the very end. This is the only choice for China,” Chinese defence minister Wei Fenghe said at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit on Sunday.
In a fiery response to US defence secretary Lloyd Austin, who spoke on Saturday, Wei said: “No one should ever underestimate the resolve and ability of the Chinese armed forces to safeguard its territorial integrity”.
The superpowers are locked in a growing war of words over the self-ruled, democratic island, which Beijing views as part of its territory awaiting reunification.
In a veiled swipe at Washington, Wei said “some country keeps playing the Taiwan card against China” to “interfere in internal affairs”.
“No one can stop China’s path to reunification,” he added.
Aljazeera
