BEIJING
\nChina will take \u201cdrastic measures\u201d if Taiwan makes moves towards independence, a Beijing official warned on Wednesday, adding that Taiwan\u2019s provocations and outside meddling could intensify next year.
\nChina claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and in the past two years has stepped up military and diplomatic pressure to assert its sovereignty claim, fuelling anger in Taipei and concern in Washington.
\nChina was willing to try its utmost to seek peaceful reunification with Taiwan but would act if any red lines on independence were crossed, Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office, told a media briefing.
\n\u201cIf separatist forces in Taiwan seeking independence provoke, exert force or even break through any red line, we will have to take drastic measures,\u201d Ma said.
\nTaiwan has emerged as a key factor in strained relations between China and the United States, the island\u2019s most important international backer and arms supplier despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties.
\nChina regularly describes the island as the most sensitive issue in its ties with the United States.
\nMa said provocation by pro-independence forces and \u201cexternal intervention\u201d could grow \u201csharper and more intense\u201d in coming months.
\n\u201cNext year, the Taiwan Strait situation will become more complex and severe,\u201d he said.
\nBeijing has sent repeated air missions over the Taiwan Strait in recent months to pressure Taiwan. It has said it will not give in to threats.
\nWhile the United States recognises only one China, it is required by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself and has long followed a policy of \u201cstrategic ambiguity\u201d on whether it would intervene militarily to protect Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack.
\nThe defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with the Communists, who established the People\u2019s Republic of China.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BEIJING China will take \u201cdrastic measures\u201d if Taiwan makes moves towards independence, a Beijing official warned on Wednesday, adding that Taiwan\u2019s provocations and outside meddling could intensify next year. China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and in the past two years has stepped up military and diplomatic pressure to assert its sovereignty […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-235770","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n