China says Taiwan ‘not Ukraine’ as island nation raises military alert level

Taiwan is “not Ukraine” and has always been an inalienable part of China, the country’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

It comes as Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen called on the island to increase vigilance over military activities in response to the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying dismissed any link between Ukraine and Taiwan issues.

“Taiwan is not Ukraine,” she said. “Taiwan has always been an inalienable part of China. This is an indisputable legal and historical fact.

The Taiwan issue is a remnant of the civil war, but China’s integrity should never have been compromised and never has been, Hua added.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had signaled the risk to Taiwan in a warning last week of adverse global consequences if Western nations fail to fulfill their pledges to back Ukraine’s independence.

The Taiwanese president also said that all security and military units “must increase their monitoring and early warning of military developments around the Taiwan Strait”, Tsai told a meeting of the Ukraine Crisis Task Force set up. put in place by its National Security Council.

China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, has stepped up military activity near the self-governing island over the past two years, although Taiwan has not reported any recent unusual moves by Chinese forces amid tension on the Ukraine has grown.

(Reuters/NAN)