Beijing: China on Tuesday warned the US that it will pay a “heavy price” for its attempts to show support to Taiwan’s independence as a delegation of ex-American defence officials dispatched by President Joe Biden landed in Taipei amid apprehensions that Beijing may attempt action against the self-ruled island akin to Russia’s military assault in Ukraine.
Taiwanese media reports said a five-member delegation headed by former US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Admiral (retd) Mullen was received by Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, raising concerns in Beijing over the US efforts to step up its engagement with Taiwan, which China firmly affirms as part of the Chinese mainland.
China in recent months ratcheted up military preparations sending hundreds of its air force jets into Taiwan’s Air Defence Zone besides beefing up its naval force keeping the self-governing breakaway island on tenterhooks.
Officials in Taiwan and the US say that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has drawn fresh attention to China’s threat to forcibly annex the self-governing island.
