Washington —

Taiwan Navy Commander Tang Hua said during a visit to Maryland that Taiwan wants more cooperation with the United States and other countries amid military pressure from China.

However, according to Reuters, Tang Jiaxuan said he would not comment on whether he would hold direct talks with U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti, lest China’s protest cause trouble for the U.S. side.

Tang told VOA on Monday at this year’s Sea-Air-Space conference hosted by the U.S. Navy League at National Harbor outside Washington that he will meet with naval personnel from the U.S. and other countries.

“I think the PLA’s problem with Taiwan is not just a Taiwan problem,” he said. “It could be in the East China Sea or the South China Sea. This is a global issue, not one specific to Taiwan.”

In 1950, the nationalists lost to the Communists and fled to Taiwan, which split from China and established a government there that eventually became a democracy.

China claims Taiwan is a breakaway province that must one day be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary.

China also has a territorial dispute with Japan in the East China Sea and claims sovereignty over much of the South China Sea, putting it on a collision course with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

The United States supports a “one-China” policy in which Beijing is the only recognized Chinese government, while maintaining non-diplomatic relations with Taiwan and vowing to defend its autonomy.

At a briefing on March 29, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian responded to a Reuters question about the Taiwan Navy Commander’s visit to the United States, saying that China firmly opposes “military collusion between the United States and Taiwan.”

He urged the United States to “immediately stop official exchanges and military contacts with Taiwan and not send any wrong message to the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces.”

Tang said navies from other countries attending the meeting also sought cooperation.

“Not only the US military, but also the navies of various countries. In fact, in many of our current cooperations, you just heard them talking about a lot of things, including manpower issues, shipbuilding issues, demand and cooperation, so I think on these occasions, everyone is Look for opportunities for collaboration and integration,” he said.

Tang Jiaxuan, Major General Wei Zhongxing, the military attaché of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, and the visiting Taiwanese delegation attended meetings and speeches by naval leaders from the United States and other countries.

He also visited the booths of major U.S. arms manufacturers such as Lockheed Martin and Raytheon at the exhibition, and inquired about weapons and equipment from companies that have procurement projects with Taiwan.

These include General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, which produces four MQ-9B Skyguard drones for Taipei.

Senior officials from the company also told him that he would visit Taiwan in early June with a delegation from the Taiwan Business Council.

Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.