BEIJING: Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party has been pursuing a policy of relying on the United States to seek “independence” and resisting reunification to a much greater extent than previous authorities on the island, which experts said has significantly escalated tensions in cross-Strait relations.
Meanwhile, Beijing has taken steps to further limit the US’ space to leverage the “Taiwan card”, demonstrating its strategic determination and confidence in countering “Taiwan independence”, they said at a recent program on Southeast Television that focused on cross-Strait relations.
China announced sanctions on Sunday against five defense industry companies in the US for being involved in weapons sales to Taiwan, as it urged Washington to stop arming the island.
Lei Chien, chairwoman of the National Women’s League on Taiwan, said: “Despite their claims of not supporting ‘Taiwan independence’, if we look at the actions of the US, they are indeed enhancing Taiwan’s military capabilities, even through the US Congress.”
Despite Beijing’s call for the US to stop arming Taiwan, Washington continued to provide significant military support to the island last year. For the first time it delivered military equipment to Taiwan under the Presidential Drawdown Authority, allowing the US to pull the weapons directly from US Defense Department inventories. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
