BEIJING, June 10. /TASS/. The People's Liberation Army of China won’t hesitate to start a war if Taiwan is torn away from China, Defense Ministry Spokesperson Wu Qian said on Friday.

"If anyone dares to rip Taiwan away from our country, the People's Liberation Army of China will not hesitate to start a war," Wu Qian was quoted by the China Central Television as saying after a meeting between Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe and his US counterpart Lloyd Austin in Singapore. "We will firmly defend our country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity."

According to the spokesman, Beijing is not going to change its stance on the issue. Meanwhile, he noted the Chinese authorities are against considering Chinese-US relations "only through the prism of rivalry." "We need to respect each other, co-exist peacefully and build a mutually beneficial relationship of cooperation," he said.

Taiwan has been governed by its local administration since 1949 when the remaining Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled to the island after suffering a defeat in China’s civil war. Since then, Taiwan has preserved the flag and some other symbols of the Republic of China that had existed in mainland China before the Communists came to power. Beijing regards the island as one of its provinces and this position is supported by most countries, including Russia.