The Chinese mainland's "military threat" to Taiwan should not be hyped and doing so goes against the trend of peaceful development in cross-Straits relations, Fan Liqing, spokeswoman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said at a regular news conference in Beijing on Wednesday.

"As long as Taiwan does not seek ‘independence,' there is nothing to fear," Fan said, responding to remarks made by Gao Hua-chu, Taiwan's "defense minister," who said the mainland has been intensifying the development and deployment of military arms against the island. Media organizations in Taiwan also reported Gao as claiming the mainland intends have the ability to solve the Taiwan question by force in 2020.