China has condemned the United States for congratulating Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on her Wednesday inauguration (May 20) for a second term, saying it is "extremely wrong" and "also very dangerous".

China: Taiwan concerns the "national feelings" of 1.4 billion Chinese people

In a strong rebuke issued by the Chinese defence ministry in response to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's congratulatory statement to Tsai, China reiterated that Taiwan is "an inalienable part of China".

As a result, the move by the U.S. has "severely violated the one-China principle, gravely jeopardised the development of relations between the two countries and their militaries, and gravely undermined peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait".

China opposes "any form of official exchanges and military contacts by any country with Taiwan", the ministry stressed.

It also said the Taiwan issue concerns China's internal affairs, and concerns the "national feelings of 1.4 billion Chinese people".

It added that the Chinese People's Liberation Army has "a firm will, full confidence and sufficient capabilities" to safeguard China's sovereignty, and to defeat any sort of foreign interference and secessionist attempt for "Taiwanese independence".

The Chinese foreign ministry also warned of "consequences" arising from the move, which they said will be borne by the U.S.

Pompeo: Support for Taiwan, a reliable partner, is bipartisan

In his statement read at Tsai's inauguration ceremony, Pompeo said Tsai's re-election for a second term by "a huge margin" is proof that she has earned the respect, admiration, and trust" of the Taiwanese people, adding that her courage in leading Taiwan's "vibrant democracy" is inspirational to the world.

In addition, he said Taiwan has shown the international community a pandemic-response model that is "worthy of emulation".

Congratulations to Dr. Tsai Ing-wen on the commencement of your second-term as Taiwan’s President. Taiwan’s vibrant democracy is an inspiration to the region and the world. With President Tsai at the helm, our partnership with Taiwan will continue to flourish.

— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) May 19, 2020

Veiled swipes at Beijing?

Pompeo's praise for Taiwan stands in contrast with the Trump administration's aggressive rhetoric towards China, which centres on the accusation that China caused the pandemic by its actions, such as covering up news on the virus outbreak when it first started in Wuhan.

Trump has also fed into the unsupported conspiracy theory that the virus originated in a virology lab in Wuhan, despite U.S. intelligence agencies saying the opposite.

Deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger -- another influential China hawk in the Trump administration -- also sent a video message congratulating Tsai, which was played at her inauguration.

The message, referencing Chinese dissident Fang Lizhi, was his second video message in a month that sought to use selected parts of Chinese history to frame the liberal democracy model as a universal ideal to the Chinese people.

Why Pompeo's statement is kind of a big deal

Pompeo is the first U.S. Secretary of State to have issued a congratulatory statement on the inauguration of a Taiwanese president since 1979.

To Beijing, his acknowledgment of the event could undermine its efforts so far in diplomatically isolating Taiwan from the larger global community, which intensified since Tsai took office in 2016.

Any sort of official exchange between the U.S. and Taiwan could also be seen by Beijing as undermining its territorial claim over the island.

Beijing had also previously lodged a complaint with the U.S. for Trump's phone call with Tsai in 2016, in which the then-president-elect congratulated Tsai on becoming the president of the self-ruled island.

China, however, had sought to play down the phone call then, saying it was "just a small trick" by Taiwan.

The phone call had broken years of protocol since 1979, when the U.S. broke formal diplomatic ties with the Republic of China and established formal relations with the People's Republic of China.

No American president had officially congratulated a Taiwanese president since then, although the former had done so customarily.

Taiwan said to be a dangerous flash point between the U.S. and China

As the heat between the U.S. and China turns up, critics say Taiwan is increasingly used as a ploy in the political games between both major powers.

Beijing views Taiwan as a renegade province and has not ruled out the use of force to bring it into the mainland fold.

Under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, the U.S. is obligated to regard any coercive moves by Beijing against Taiwan as a serious threat to the peace of East Asia, which makes the region a potential flash point between the U.S. and China.

Top image via Taiwan Presidential Office