Taipei:
Taiwan has once again snubbed China for objecting to the usage of the Strait of Taiwan by Taipei and its democratic allies. The Taiwan Strait does not belong to China, Taipei has said in its curt response, adding that any attempts by Beijing to create tension will threaten global security.
The statement issued by Taiwan’s defence ministry came shortly after Beijing reacted sharply to a Canadian ship passing through the Taiwan Strait. Just last week, Beijing had done the same when US navy ships crossed the Taiwanese waterway as part of a routine voyage.
Ships, including naval vessels of Taiwan’s allies – US, Canada, Britain, France, and Australia – usually sail through the Strait of Taiwan, an international waterway, around once a month. China objects to this as it considers the entire Taiwan Strait and most of the South China Sea as its own territory and disregards international maritime law in this region.
US and Canadian ships crossing the channel have angered Beijing, which has threatened that such missions only increase the risk of escalation. Taiwan’s defence ministry highlighted that China also carried out ‘combat-ready military drills’ immediately after these sailings.
“The Taiwan Strait is absolutely not within the scope of China’s sovereignty,” Taiwan’s defence ministry said in its statement, adding that “Freedom of navigation by friendly and allied countries through the strait are concrete actions that highlight the strait’s legal status internationally”.
Slamming China for trying to create a false narrative that the Taiwan Strait is an “internal issue”, Taipei said, “Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is not only a matter of concern for Taiwan, but also a common concern for free and democratic countries around the world.”
The statement further noted that “Any deliberate attempts by the communist military to create tension in the Taiwan Strait will pose a real threat to global security.”
The Taiwanese defence ministry also said that in the last 24 hours alone it has detected 41 Chinese military aircraft and nine warships around the island nation, concentrated in the strait, and off Taiwan’s southwest coast.
Beijing also put out a statement lambasting Canada over the passage of its ship through the Taiwan Strait. “Canada’s actions deliberately stirred up trouble and undermined peace and stability in the strait,” the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theatre Command said in a statement.
Warning Canada against repeating its actions, the Chinese military said “Theatre forces maintain a high level of alert at all times and resolutely counter all threats and provocations.”
The ship that sailed through the Strait of Taiwan was identified as the HMCS Ottawa. Canada has not responded to China’s threat so far.
Welcoming Canada’s sail through, Taipei has said “Canada has once again taken concrete actions to defend the freedom, peace and openness of the Taiwan Strait and has demonstrated its firm position that the Taiwan Strait is international waters.”
Taiwan’s democratically-elected government has repeatedly rejected Beijing’s threats of taking over Taiwan, saying only the island’s people can decide their future.
(Inputs from Reuters)