UPDATE 1-Chance of China, Taiwan conflict should not be discounted - Australian defence minister

(Recasts, adds Chinese Foreign Ministry comment, context)
By Lidia Kelly
MELBOURNE, April 25 (Reuters) - The chance of a conflict
involving China over Taiwan "should not be discounted," but
Australia will work with its allies in the region to try and
maintain peace, Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton said on
Sunday.
Dutton told the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) that
China had been increasingly clear about its reunification
ambitions with Taiwan.
"I don't think it should be discounted," Dutton said when
asked whether the prospects of a battle over Taiwan were
growing.
"People need to be realistic about the activity," Dutton
added. "There is militarisation of bases across the region.
Obviously, there is a significant amount of activity and there
is an animosity between Taiwan and China."
China claims democratically-governed Taiwan as its own
territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the
island under Beijing's control.
Taiwan's government says only Taiwan's people can decide its
future, and has denounced Chinese threats.
Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang
Wenbin said he hoped Australia was aware of the sensitive nature
of the issue and could "avoid sending any wrong signal to Taiwan
independence forces".
Australia's diplomatic relations with China, its largest
trading partner, have worsened since Canberra called for an
international inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus which
was first reported in the Chinese city Wuhan, prompting trade
reprisals from Beijing.
Dutton added that while there is a high level of
preparedness for the Australian defence force to meet any
threats in the region against the country's allies, Canberra
will work to try to maintain peace.
"We want to make sure we continue to be a good neighbour in
the region, that we work with our partners and with our allies
and nobody wants to see conflict between China and Taiwan or
anywhere else," Dutton said.