Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry Photo: cnsphoto

The Taiwan question is fundamentally different from the Ukraine issue and linking the two is to intentionally create a new crisis across the Taiwan Straits, said Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, at a press conference on Monday. 

Wang's remarks came in response to the comments John Aquilino, the top US military commander in the Indo-Pacific region, made during an interview on Friday. The commander said that the Ukraine crisis has "underscored the serious threat that China poses to Taiwan" and US' Asian allies must take seriously "the possibility of an attack on the island." 

"We have made it clear many times that there is a fundamental difference between the Taiwan question and the Ukraine issue and there is no analogy between the two," said Wang, pointing out that some people in the US have repeatedly linked two unrelated issues to smear and attack China with ulterior motives.

Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory and is fundamentally different from Ukraine, which is a sovereign state, he said. 

Making deliberate analogy between the two is an attempt to create a new crisis in the Taiwan Straits with a malicious intention, which will serve the geostrategic and economic interests of the US at the expense of the well-being of people on both sides of the Straits and regional peace and stability, said Wang. 

"Taiwan is not Ukraine. The resolve and will of the Chinese people to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity are unbreakable. On the Taiwan question, those who play with fire will get burned," he said. 

He noted that the Ukraine crisis is a result of conflicts accumulated over many years. The US, instead of reflecting on its due responsibilities and making efforts to cool down the situation, has kept pouring fuel on the fire.

Global Times