Taiwan has contingency plans for any moves by China during Prez Tsai Ing-wen's overseas visit: Minister

Taiwan's Deputy Defence Minister Po Horng-huei said on Wednesday (March 22) that the ministry has contingency plans for any moves by China during Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's overseas visit. Addressing a press conference, Po Horng-huei was asked whether Beijing was likely to stage more drills when President Tsai is abroad.

Po Horng-huei said the armed forces were prepared and added, "When it comes to what the Chinese communists have done in the past, the defence ministry can have a grasp on it, and will consider the worse scenario."

"During the president's overseas visit, the defence ministry has contingency plans for all moves (by China)," the deputy defence minister saidand gave no further details, the news agency Reuters reported.

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Starting next week, Taiwanese President Tsai will visit diplomatic allies Guatemala and Belize and she would be stopping in New York and Los Angeles.Belize and Guatemala are two of just 14 countries that officially recognise Taiwan over China. And President Tsai's trip comes after Honduras decided to open official relations with Beijing.

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While in California, Tsai is expected to meet US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy inthe most sensitive leg of her trip. But Taiwan declined to confirm whether this meeting would take place, Reuters reported. China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its territory, carried out large-scale war games around the island in August last year after a visit to Taipei by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

China has condemned Tsai Ing-wen's US stopover. On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbi said, "We firmly oppose any form of official exchanges between the US and Taiwan," he told a press briefing in Beijing. China has made solemn representations to the US in this regard," the news agency AFP reported.

Washington, meanwhile, said that there was no reason for China to react to the Taiwanese president's trip (to the US), saying such transits were routine and happened many times before.

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Two days back, China expressed its anger at a visit to Taiwan by Germany's Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger. On Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said it had filed a strong protest with Germany about Stark-Watzinger's "vile conduct".

Wang told reporters that Germany should immediately stop associating and interacting with Taiwan's independence separatist forces, immediately stop sending wrong signals to these forces, and immediately stop using the Taiwan issue to interfere in China's internal affairs.

(With inputs from agencies)

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