MOSCOW, June 27. /TASS/. By flooding Taiwan with weapons and encouraging separatist sentiment, the US is using the same methods that it employed in Ukraine, Ivan Zhelokhovtsev, head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s First Asia Department, said.
"The Taiwan issue has recently become a special irritant between the United States and China because of what the Americans are doing. Washington and its satellites are violating the One China principle by strengthening military and political ties with the island, flooding it with weapons and encouraging separatist sentiment. Clearly, the processes that are underway in Taiwan are largely similar to what the Westerners earlier implemented in Ukraine," the diplomat noted at a conference dedicated to the launch of the second research and educational program dubbed Asia Dialogue.
He also pointed out that Russia and China "are well aware of the risks of the Asia-Pacific region’s NATOfication."
Taiwan has been governed by its local administration since 1949. However, Beijing considers the island to be one of its provinces, a position shared by the majority of countries, including Russia. Washington severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979 and established ties with China. While recognizing the One China policy, the US continues to maintain contact with the Taipei administration and supply weapons to the island.