The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has accused the United States of attempting to stoke “trouble and provocation” as tensions continue to mount with America’s top adversary.
China’s dictatorship issued a fiery statement on Thursday after a U.S. Navy warship sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait.
Chinese Defence Ministry spokesperson Colonel Wu Qian delivered a message to the U.S. government while speaking with reporters at a monthly briefing.
“U.S. warships and planes have caused trouble and provocation on China’s doorstep, and carried out large-scale, high-frequency activities in waters and airspace around China,” Wu told reporters.
The comment came after USS John Finn sailed through a corridor in the Taiwan Strait.
It was the first time a U.S. military vessel had traveled through the passage since Taiwan hosted its presidential election.
The U.S. Navy defended the action, saying the destroyer’s path was “beyond the territorial sea of any coastal state.”
Wu said China’s response in driving away the ship was “justified, reasonable, professional and restrained.”
The Defence Ministry spokesperson said the CCP will “continue to organize relevant military operations” in and around the Taiwan Strait.
China officially claims Taiwan, which is democratically governed and operates autonomously, as within its sovereignty.
However, Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, has never been a part of Communist China, officially the People’s Republic of China.
Taiwan is all that remains of the Republic of China after the Communist Party takeover of the mainland.
The U.S. and most other countries recognize this so-called “One China” policy and formally agree Taiwan is a part of China.
In the island’s most recent presidential election, the two leading candidates offered competing ideas on how Taiwan should relate to Communist China.
In January, the people of Taiwan elected William Lai, who campaigned on keeping a distance from Beijing.
The President-elect will be inaugurated in May.
During the briefing, Wu also accused the Philippines of “violating China’s sovereignty and making provocations in the South China Sea.”
He was responding to attempts at reinforcing construction in the contested Spratly Islands.
The spokesperson also said Manilla was “in collusion with external powers.”
China also denied providing any weapons or equipment to the Middle East.
The Israeli military accused China of being involved after it claimed it found Hamas terrorists using Chinese-made weaponry in the Gaza Strip.
