Upping the ante on its relations with the United States and on the question of Taiwan’s future, Chinese ambassador to the US Qin Gang said that military conflict was a real possibility.
He was speaking on US National Public Radio.
‘If the Taiwanese authorities, emboldened by the United States, keep going down the road for independence, it most likely will involve China and the United States, the two big countries, in the military conflict,’ he said.
He said that Taiwan was the largest issue of contention between the two countries.
Democratic, self-ruled Taiwan is claimed by China as part of its territory, and it has long threatened to use war to achieve ‘reunification’ if diplomatic means fail.
Qin said that the tensions were the fault of Taiwan’s government which has sought to further ‘its independence agenda by borrowing the support and the encouragement of the United States.’ He added that the US was using Taiwan to ‘contain’ China.
In recent months Chinese rhetoric on the matter has become more bellicose, as have incursions by the Chinese air force into Taiwanese airspace.
The current administration of Taiwan is opposed to reunification. Polls also indicate that the share of Taiwan’s people identifying with China or a Chinese identity has fallen sharply over the years.
[Image: Wangdora92, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15837699]