The Taiwan Strait is international waters, not China’s “inland waters” as it claims, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, as expressed gratitude to like-minded countries for voicing concern about China’s military exercise around Taiwan on Monday.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on Monday launched military drills, called “Joint Sword-2024B,” in the Taiwan Strait and surrounding Taiwan, which it said served as “a stern warning to the separatist acts of Taiwanese independence forces.”
The one-day joint drills came four days after President William Lai (賴清德) reiterated that the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China are “not subordinate” to each other, in his first Double Ten National Day address.
Photo: Huang Chin-hsuan, Taipei Times
The MOFA strongly condemns the PLA’s drills, ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) said.
“The Taiwan Strait is international waters, not inland waters as China claims,” he said, adding that Taiwan is not only in the center of the first island chain, but also plays a crucial role in the “non-red supply chain” and democratic global value chain.
“Maintaining freedom, openness and peace in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region is already an international consensus,” he said.
The ministry also expresses its regards and sincere gratitude to like-minded countries for expressing serious concerns shortly after China launched its military drills, and for reiterating their opposition to unilateral actions to change the “status quo” in the Strait, and urging China to show restraint, he said.
The US Department of State said the US is “seriously concerned” about the PLA’s “unwarranted” and “provocative” drills, while Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and the Japanese ministers of foreign affairs and defense also stressed the importance of peace in the Strait.
The EU warned against “unilateral actions” that change the “status quo” in the waterway.
The UK said it was concerned by China’s military exercises around Taiwan as they increased tensions and risked a “dangerous escalation” in the Strait.
“We do not support any unilateral attempts to change the status quo... We call for restraint and the avoidance of any further actions that may undermine peace and stability,” the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a statement.
Shortly after announcing the completion of the drills on Monday, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense issued a statement saying the exercise was an increase in pressure against Taiwanese independence, and that more could follow.
The Pentagon strongly criticized the Chinese military’s war games, calling them destabilizing.
“This military pressure operation is irresponsible, disproportionate and destabilizing,” Pentagon spokesman Major General Patrick Ryder said in a statement.
Japan yesterday expressed its “concerns” to China over the drills, adding that it scrambled fighter jets near its southern island of Yonaguni.
“The government is closely monitoring the related activities with great interest, and has conveyed Japan’s concerns to the Chinese side,” Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kazuhiko Aoki told reporters.
Additional reporting by Reuters and AFP
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