The president of Taiwan has warned Beijing against using "threats and intimidation" to isolate the self-ruled island. Relations have soured since the Taiwanese government refused to recognize the "One China" policy.
Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen on Saturday said Taipei will not succumb to pressure from China, calling on Beijing to engage in "calm and rational" dialogue aimed at maintaining peace during a year-end news conference.
Tensions have risen between mainland China and Taiwan since Beijing suspended official communications with Taipei in June after Tsai's administration refused to endorse the "One China" policy.
"Beijing authorities are returning to their old ways of isolating and suppressing Taiwan, and even of threats and intimidation," Tsai said.
"We will not yield to the pressure nor go back to the old ways of confrontation," the Taiwanese president added.
Relations between mainland China and Taiwan were strained earlier this month, when US President-elect Donald Trump dismissed decades of American diplomatic protocol and accepted a call from Tsai.
China & Taiwan's 70 year cold war
In the first summit between the two countries in six decades, China and Taiwan's top leaders held talks in Singapore on Saturday. Taiwan broke away from China following the 1945-9 Chinese civil war.
Image: AFP/Getty Images/R. Beck
Animosity has lasted nearly seven decades
China and Taiwan split in 1949 following the rise of Communist revolutionary leader Mao Zedong. China's nationalist President Chiang Kai-shek fled to Taiwan - which was then a backwater island.
In 1949, Chiang Kai-shek established a "provisional" Republic of China capital in Taipei. Post-war economic conditions caused severe inflation which left the island's tiny population impoverished for many years.
Image: Getty Images/T. Lions
Taiwan prospers without the motherland
Over the past six decades, Taiwan has experienced rapid industrialization and economic growth, becoming known as one of the "Four Asian Tigers."
Image: AP
Rise of China
In the past 30 years, China has brushed off Communism in all but name, rising to become the world's second largest economy by nominal GDP. China insists Taiwan is part of its territory. But Taiwan maintains it is a sovereign state and a democracy.
Image: Getty Images
US arms sales
In 2011, Taiwan upgraded its F-16 fighter fleet at a cost of $.5.3 billion (4.9 billion euros). China denounced the sale of arms from the US, warning at the time that it would damage Sino-American military and security ties.
Image: AP
South China Sea diputes
Taiwan and China are currently locked in territorial disputes over the South China Sea. China's claims over most of area, along with its massive land reclamation projects in the Spratly islands, have annoyed much of the rest of Asia.
Image: Reuters/U.S. Navy
'We are one family'
Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed the relations between Beijing and Taipei, saying that "we are brothers...still connected by our flesh even if our bones are broken." In response, Ma called on China to respect Taiwan's democracy.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/R. Rahman
Protesters not convinced by China's overtures
In the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, about 500 people took to the streets to protest against the meeting between the two leaders. Many are skeptical as to whether ties with China will allow the territory's democracy to be maintained.
Image: Reuters/P. Chuang
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'Maintain peaceful relations'
Since the phone call, China has launched military drills near Taiwan, which it considers a breakaway province. At least one aircraft carrier and five other warships passed by the self-ruled island earlier this month.
"As long as we can be calm, rational and maintain a flexible attitude, I believe we should be able to find a solution that allows both sides to maintain peaceful and stable relations," Tsai said.
Meanwhile, Beijing has urged Washington to prevent Tsai from entering American airspace during her upcoming visit to diplomatic allies in Central America. She is scheduled to make stops in Houston and San Francisco. It is unclear whether she will meet with Trump's transition team during the stopover.
China has sought to isolate Taiwan internationally since the Chinese civil war of the 20th century effectively resulted in two de facto states: the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China based in Taiwan.
Taiwan has formal diplomatic ties to only 21 states after the small African nation of Sao Tome and Principe cut ties earlier this month in favor of China.
