Chinese officials on Monday accused Britain of “evil intentions” after the country sailed a warship through the Taiwan Strait, Reuters reported.
The HMS Richmond, recently stationed in the East China Sea, was taking part in exercises in United Nations sanctions enforcement operations against North Korea.
A post to the HMS Richmond’s official Twitter account on Sunday read: “After a busy period working with partners and allies in the East China Sea, we are now en route through the Taiwan Strait to visit #Vietnam and the Vietnam People’s Navy.”
The People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theatre Command later said air and naval forces have been ordered to follow the warship and gave a fair warning to Great Britain, Reuters reported.
“This kind of behaviour harbours evil intentions and damages peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” Chinese military officials wrote. “Theatre command forces always maintain a high level of alert and resolutely counter all threats and provocations.”
China, which considers Taiwan part of its territory, has stepped up military and political pressure in an effort to force Taiwan to accept Chinese sovereignty.
Beijing has been conducting military exercises around Taiwan, flying air force aircraft into the southwestern part of the island’s air defense identification zone on the daily basis, Reuters noted.
HD Editor’s Note: Why Is This News Biblically Relevant?
Last Thursday, 19 Chinese military aircrafts entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, prompting the Island nation to respond by “scrambling its own fighter jets, broadcasting radio warnings to the Chinese PLAAF aircraft, and tracking the Chinese jets ‘with land-based anti-aircraft missiles,'” Breitbart News reported.
Breitbart further reported:
Taiwan is a sovereign island nation located off the southeast coast of China; it functions independently under its own government and boasts its own military. Despite this, Beijing considers Taiwan a renegade province of China and regularly attempts to block the island from joining any international bodies that would lend it legitimacy on the world’s stage.
True to form, China’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday it “firmly opposes” Taiwan “entering into any official treaty or organization” when asked about the island’s CPTPP application at a regular press conference.
“China firmly opposes all official interactions between Taiwan and any country, firmly rejects Taiwan’s accession to any agreement or organization of official nature. China’s position on this issue is clear,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told Japan’s Kyodo News on September 23.
Responding to Beijing’s remarks in a statement issued late Thursday, Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said China had “no right to speak” about Taiwan’s bid for membership in the CPTPP.
This news comes as China has ramped up its threats against Taiwan and any nation that seek to intervene against China in the conflict between them.
In August, China warned Taiwan that the United States would not come to their rescue “Once a war breaks out” in the Straits.
“From what happened in Afghanistan,” Chinese state-run media outlet Global Times wrote, “those in Taiwan should perceive that once a war breaks out in the Straits, the island’s defense will collapse in hours and US military won’t come to help.”
Furthermore, in July the Chinese Communist Party published a ‘three-stage’ plan to invade Taiwan, and threatened to nuke Japan should they dare to intervene.
“When we liberate Taiwan, if Japan dares to intervene by force, even if it only deploys one solider, one plane and one ship, we will not only return reciprocal fire, but also start a full scale war against Japan,” a verified military commentary channel urged. “We will use nuclear bombs first, we will use nuclear bombs continuously until Japan declares unconditional surrender for the second time.”
In Matthew 24, the disciples ask Jesus, “What shall be the sign of thy coming?” Jesus’s response is a detailed description of the condition of the world and what it will look like in the last days before His return. Wars and rumours of wars, nation rising against nation, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, these being the beginning of sorrows.
In Luke 21:25, Jesus says, “There will be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth Distress of Nations with Perplexity, the seas and the wave roaring.These things will be greatly increased and primarily take place during the seven-year Tribulation (from which the church is absent). However, with the current global state of turmoil amongst the nations, we can’t help but recognize the distress of nations Jesus describes in Luke 21 and Matthew 24, rising in our world today.
