China’s Foreign Ministry today condemned Taiwanese Vice President William Lai’s brief visit to the United States, calling him a separatist and agitator and saying Beijing would take strong measures to protect its sovereignty.

Lai, considered the favorite to become Taiwan’s next president in January elections, arrived in New York late yesterday, officially a stop on his trip to Paraguay where he will attend the inauguration of the country’s president.

China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, has repeatedly criticized Lai’s trip, which includes another stop, this time in San Francisco on Wednesday on his way back to Taipei.

In a statement issued shortly after Lai arrived in New York on a scheduled flight from Taipei, China’s foreign ministry said it was opposed to any visit to the US by “separatists who support Taiwan independence”.

“Lai stubbornly adheres to the separatist position of Taiwan independence and is an absolute troublemaker,” the ministry said.

Taiwan is at the “core of China’s core interests” and events have repeatedly shown that the reason for the increase in tension in the Taiwan Strait is that Taiwan is trying to “lean on the United States to pursue its independence” , the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

“China is closely monitoring developments and will take decisive and forceful measures to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”