Taiwan's Foreign Ministry responded to US President Donald Trump's warnings about the island's self-determination by declaring its sovereignty.
This is stated in an official statement from the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry.
“Taiwan is a sovereign and independent democratic state and is not subordinate to the People's Republic of China,” they emphasized.
At the same time, the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry noted that Beijing “has no right to make any claims” to the island's authorities, although Taipei recognizes the “indisputable fact of the independence and sovereignty” of the People's Republic of China.
“Our government will continue to deepen cooperation with the United States, bringing peace through strength and ensuring that the security and stability of the Taiwan Strait will not be threatened or undermined. This also serves the common interests of Taiwan, the United States, and democratic countries around the world,” the ministry said.
They added that they appreciated Trump's “continued support” for the island's security since his first term as US president, including “a record high volume of announced arms sales.”
“Cooperation between Taiwan and the United States has always been demonstrated by actions, and Taiwan expects the United States to continue to fulfill its obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act,” the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry summarized.
On May 15, when asked by a reporter whether “the people of Taiwan should feel more or less safe” after his meetings with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Trump said that U.S. policy toward the island remained unchanged. However, he warned the Taiwanese government against declaring independence and expecting “carte blanche” for American military support in the event of a conflict with China.
What is known about the conflict between the PRC and Taiwan?
The PRC authorities consider independent and self-governing Taiwan to be their territory and do not rule out the use of force to seize it. Taiwan considers itself a separate state from mainland China, has its own constitution and democratically elected leaders. The aggravation of relations between the countries occurred against the backdrop of the visit to Taiwan in the summer of 2022 of the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi. She became the first high-ranking American politician to visit Taiwan in the last 25 years. On December 26, 2022, Taiwan announced the largest violation of the island's airspace by the Chinese Air Force. In the past 24 hours, 71 Chinese Air Force aircraft, including fighter jets and drones, entered the island's air defense identification zone.
Since then, China has been steadily increasing pressure on the country: in particular, the PRC army conducted military exercises near Taiwan during the Chinese New Year. Also, on January 17, a Chinese reconnaissance drone entered Taiwanese airspace for the first time near the Pratas Islands.
Although Taiwan has never been part of the PRC and has been governed by its own administration since its proclamation in 1949, the communist government of China considers the island to be its province, and threatens to use military force to “reunify” it with the mainland. The daily presence of troops and their demonstrative training in operations against Taiwan are one of the elements of China's pressure on the Taiwanese in order to force them to agree to Beijing's establishment of control over the democratically governed island.
The PRC government considers independent and self-governing Taiwan its territory and does not rule out the use of force to seize it. Taiwan considers itself a separate state from mainland China, with its own constitution and democratically elected leaders.