Taiwan has defended its sovereignty after US President Donald Trump warned against a possible independence for the island after his two-day meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.
"Taiwan is a sovereign and independent democratic country and is not subordinate to the People's Republic of China," Taiwan's foreign ministry said in an official statement.
The statement was a swift response to Trump's comments to Fox News on Friday, in which the US president said he did not want Taiwan to declare independence and signaled his unwillingness to get the US involved in a military conflict with China over the island.
"I don't want anyone to move towards independence. And we're supposed to travel 9,500 miles to fight a war. I'm not looking for that," Trump said. He added that he wanted the two countries to "calm down."
Although the United States does not officially recognize Taiwan as an independent country, Washington maintains close ties with the island and supplies weapons to Taipei, a policy that has drawn sharp reactions from Beijing.
During the talks in Beijing, Xi Jinping urged Trump to stop arms sales to Taiwan, Chinese state media reported. The Chinese leader has described Taiwan as "the most important issue in Sino-US relations" and warned that if the issue is not managed carefully, it could lead to conflict between the two powers.
At the same time, Trump has tried to downplay the danger of escalation, saying that "Xi does not want war."