VLADIVOSTOK, September 7. /TASS/. Washington’s policy on Taiwan seeks to goad China into orchestrated belligerency, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in an interview with TASS on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) on Wednesday.
"There could be many answers. One of the main ones is to create another false flag involving China’s supposedly 'aggressiveness,'" she said, responding to a question about why the US is pursuing this policy against Taiwan. The diplomat also highlighted an article by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov published two months ago in which he spoke about false flags as the basic tool of American and Western foreign policy and international activity in general. "In this case there is again a false flag moment," Zakharova added.
"If you want, call it a provocation, or a staged event, in order to conjure up a story about China’s allegedly aggressive actions for justifying a policy of sanctions, including in the economic sphere against China, and for adopting legislative decisions that limit the internal development of China and its relations with the countries of the region. But it's not just that either. This is generally destabilizing the situation in the region, shifting the balance of power, and creating a new hotbed of tension," Zakharova specified.
China has been conducting regular military drills near Taiwan in recent weeks after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi paid a visit to Taipei on August 2-3. It was followed by several other US delegations visiting the island, which also drew sharp criticism from Beijing and led to continued military drills in the region.
Taiwan has been governed by its own administration since 1949, when the remnants of the Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled there after their defeat in the Chinese Civil War. Since then, the island has retained the flag and some other attributes of the former Republic of China which existed on the mainland before the Communists came to power. Beijing considers Taiwan one of the provinces of the People’s Republic of China, and this position is backed by numerous countries, including Russia.