Taiwan's foreign ministry said in a statement following Trump's comments that "Beijing has no right to claim jurisdiction over Taiwan."
US President Donald Trump's warning to Taiwan against formally declaring independence from China has prompted a response from the island's foreign ministry, which reasserted that it's a "sovereign democratic country."
During a state visit to Beijing this week, Trump said that while his policy towards Taiwan had not changed, he was against the idea of it declaring independence from China and seemingly questioned why the US would send military support in the event of an invasion.
"I'm not looking to have somebody go independent and, you know, we're supposed to travel 9,500 miles to fight a war. I'm not looking for that," he told Fox News.
"I want them to cool down. I want China to cool down," he added.
