China ready to ‘forcefully’ stop Taiwan independence: Defence minister
Al JazeeraDong Jun says ‘whoever dares to split Taiwan from China will be crushed to pieces and suffer his own destruction’. Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun has said the country’s military was ready to “forcefully” stop Taiwan’s independence, in a fiery speech at a Singapore security forum. Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue conference in Singapore on Sunday, Dong said the self-ruled democracy of Taiwan was the “core of core issues” for China, but claimed Taiwan’s governing Democratic Progressive Party was incrementally pursuing separatism and bent on erasing Chinese identity. “Whoever dares to split Taiwan from China will be crushed to pieces and suffer his own destruction.” Reacting to the Chinese minister’s statements, Taiwan’s government said it deeply regretted the “provocative and irrational” remarks. On the South China Sea, which China claims almost entirely and where it has been involved in frequent confrontations with Philippine vessels, Dong warned of “limits” to Beijing’s restraint.