The Sydney Morning Herald
Date: December 14 2017
Beijing/Taipei: Taiwan will fail to get foreign support for its cause, the Chinese government said on Wednesday after a Chinese diplomat threatened the self-ruled island with attack, while Taiwan said it was committed to peace.
China considers Taiwan to be a wayward province and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under its control. The United States has no formal ties with Taiwan but is bound by law to help it defend itself and is its main source of arms.
China sends an aircraft carrier to the Taiwan Strait.
Beijing regularly calls Taiwan the most sensitive and important issue between it and the United States. In September, the US Congress passed the National Defence Authorisation Act for the 2018 fiscal year, which authorises mutual visits by navy vessels between Taiwan and the United States.
That prompted a senior US.-based Chinese diplomat to say last week that China would attack Taiwan the instant any US navy vessel visited the island. [FULL STORY]