On the Regular Press Conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China on March 1, 2022, a reporter from Macao Monthly asked: According to reports, US President Biden today decided to send a bipartisan delegation led by Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to visit Taiwan. Tsai Ing-wen is set to receive the delegation in Taipei in the morning of March 2. Do you have any comment?

Wang Wenbin: The Chinese people are firmly determined and resolved to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity. The attempt by the US to show support to Taiwan will be in vain, no matter who the US sends. China urges the US to abide by the one-China principle and stipulations in the three China-US joint communiqués, stop all forms of official interactions with Taiwan, and handle Taiwan-related issues in a prudent manner, lest it should further undermine the larger interests of China-US relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Shenzhen TV: The US guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson recently sailed through the Taiwan Strait and hyped it up. What is your comment on this?

Wang Wenbin: I noticed that spokesperson for the PLA Eastern Theater Command has released a written statement on this.

What is the true intention of the US hyping of the USS’ passage through the Taiwan Strait?

If the US wants to embolden the “Taiwan independence” forces in this way, then we have this to say to the US: such move will only accelerate the demise of the “Taiwan independence” forces. The US will also pay a heavy price for its adventurist act.

If the US tries to intimidate and pressure China in this way, then we have this stern warning: the so-called military deterrence will be reduced to scrap iron when facing the steely great wall of the 1.4 billion Chinese people.

The trick of sending vessels to sail through the Taiwan Strait should be better saved to entertain those obsessed with hegemony.