VIENTIANE, July 27. /TASS/. The West is promoting confrontational approaches in the Taiwan Strait by organizing military activities on the island, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters.
"We and Chinese friends talked about the situation in the Taiwan Strait, where the West, although reaffirming in words its commitment to the ‘one China’ principle, in practice promotes very confrontational approaches: arming Taiwan, organizing various military events there, sending high-level delegations to the island, hosting delegations of the Taiwanese administration," the top diplomat emphasized.
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, Taiwan has retained the flag and some other attributes of the former Republic of China that existed on the mainland before the Communists took power. Official Beijing considers Taiwan a province of the People’s Republic of China. The United States broke off diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979 and established relations with China. While recognizing the one-China policy, Washington continues to maintain contacts with the Taipei government. The US is Taiwan's main arms supplier.