TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan's top China policymaker on Wednesday said Chinese military threats would only drive the two sides further apart, as state media in the island's giant neighbour warned of a strong response to a U.S. visit by Taiwan's president.
China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has expressed anger at President Lai Ching-te's weekend trip to Hawaii on his way to three countries in the Pacific that maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taipei.
Lai, who is also due to spend one night in the U.S. territory of Guam on Wednesday, is making what are formally only stopovers. However, he spent two days in Hawaii where he met the governor, gave speeches and visited a World War Two memorial.
Security sources have told Reuters that China could stage new war games around Taiwan as early as this weekend in response to the trip.
Speaking to reporters in Taipei, Mainland Affairs Council minister Chiu Chui-cheng said Lai's trip to consolidate friendship with other countries was something Taiwan's public support.
"But the Chinese communists threaten Taiwan with military hegemony, which I think is something our citizens do not agree with," he said.
"This will only cause cross-strait relations to drift further and further away, and which will not be helpful to ties in the future."
The international community should take China's military drills and threats seriously, he added.
Lai and his government reject Beijing's sovereignty claims and say they have a right to engage with the rest of the world.
China calls Lai a "separatist" and has staged two rounds of war games around Taiwan since he took office in May. China's military also operates around Taiwan on a daily basis.
'STRONG COUNTERMEASURES'
In a commentary on its website on Wednesday, Chinese state television said the real purpose of Lai's transits was to "rely on the United States to seek independence" which shows he is the real destroyer of peace in the Taiwan Strait.
"Lai is well aware that his 'transit' in the United States is bound to meet with resolute opposition and strong countermeasures from the mainland side, which will only aggravate the tense situation in the Taiwan Strait," it said.
Taiwan presidents customarily make transit stops in the United States on the way to and from far flung allies in the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean in what the United States says is a routine practice done for safety and convenience reasons.
Chinese state television said that was merely an excuse for Taiwan to "legitimise" the trip.
"It is pushing Taiwan step by step into an even more dangerous situation," it added.
Speaking to reporters in parliament in Taipei, Taiwan National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen noted a recent uptick in Chinese military activities in the region, including joint exercises with Russia last week near Japan.
Tsai said China was likely trying to achieve two things.
"One is to test the bottom line of the United States and its allies during the U.S. transition of power," he said, referring to President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration next month.
"The second is that the Chinese communists' military is still in the process of purging its generals internally, and is using the training to divert domestic attention."
China's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The ministry said last week that Miao Hua, a top-ranking military official had been suspended and was under investigation for "serious violations of discipline".
China's military has undergone a sweeping anti-corruption purge since last year, with at least nine People's Liberation Army generals and a handful of defence industry executives removed from the national legislative body.
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