China calls US claims of military pressure on Taiwan a 'distortion'

The United States' claims about China exerting military pressure on Taiwan are distorted, and demonstrate its "malicious intentions", a government spokesperson in Beijing said on Wednesday.



China has stepped up military activity around democratically governed Taiwan, which it views as its own territory, holding several rounds of war games, most recently with live-fire drills in late December.



"Certain people on the U.S. side are jumping up and down, continuously rehashing the so-called 'mainland threat' or 'military pressure,'" Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, told reporters.



This represented "a complete distortion of the facts and harbours malicious intentions," he added, saying Taiwan was an internal affair for China, which would brook no outside interference.



Chen urged the United States to act with great caution, and handle Taiwan-related matters carefully and prudently.