"I clearly conveyed China's position regarding the visit of the said US senator to Taiwan yesterday. I would like to stress that the main reason for the current tensions in the Taiwan Strait is that the Taiwanese administration is using the US to achieve independence, and some people in the US are using Taiwan to deter China," Zhao told a briefing.
He noted that lately the US has been "openly inciting and supporting" secessionist forces in Taiwan, saying one thing and doing the opposite, which "could put Taiwan in a very dangerous position, while the US itself could face serious consequences."
Tammy Duckworth, a US senator and the chair of the US Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Airland, arrived in Taiwan on Monday for a three-day visit as a part of a tour in the Indo-Pacific region and met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday.
It is her second visit in a year to Taiwan. Later on Tuesday, Zhao told a briefing that China strongly opposes the senator's visit and urges the US to "earnestly abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques" and refrain from "sending any wrong signals to the 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces."
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said Monday that Beijing sent some 30 warplanes near the island. Army Senior Colonel Shi Yi, the spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese Army, said earlier on Wednesday that the Chinese military had carried out a joint air and sea policing mission near Taiwan as a response to "the collusion" between Washington and Taipei.
Beijing considers Taiwan an inalienable part of its sovereign territory and opposes any official contacts between the island and other nations. The United States has provided Taiwan with numerous weapon systems and supported pro-independence elements there.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has repeatedly said that the one-China principle is a political foundation of US-China relations and that violations by the US of its own obligations have been jeopardizing bilateral cooperation while threatening peace and stability in the region.