Maintaining the status quo benefits Taiwan, China, U.S.: MND

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/05/14
By: Claudia Liu and Christie Chen

Taipei, May 14 (CNA) Maintaining the status quo across the Taiwan Strait is in the interest of Taiwan, China and the United States, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) said Saturday, in response to a Pentagon report released a day earlier.

In the U.S. Department of Defense’s annual report on China’s military power to Congress, the department said China’s continued efforts to develop and deploy military capabilities intended to coerce or invade Taiwan have posed “major challenges” to Taiwan’s security.

The report also said that the U.S. “opposes any unilateral change to the status quo in the Taiwan Strait by either side and does not support Taiwan independence” and “continues to support the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues in a manner, scope, and pace acceptable to the people on both sides.”

In response, MND spokesman Maj. Gen. Luo Shou-he (羅紹和) cited the Pentagon’s report in 2015 as saying that the “formal declaration of Taiwan independence” and “undefined moves toward Taiwan independence” were two of the circumstances under which China had warned it would use force against Taiwan.     [FULL  STORY]