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By Fion Khan / Staff writer, with CNA
A British Royal Navy patrol vessel yesterday sailed through the Taiwan Strait, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the British Office Taipei said today.
The ministry said that it welcomed the transit of the HMS Spey as affirmation that the UK is taking concrete action to safeguard freedom of navigation.
It demonstrated that the UK regards the Taiwan Strait as international waters, the ministry told a news conference.
Photo: AFP
Like-minded countries such as the UK are welcome to safeguard peace and stability in the Strait, promote freedom and openness in the Indo-Pacific and maintain the rule-based international order, the ministry said.
The HMS Spey operated in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the British Office Taipei said.
Wherever the Royal Navy operates, it does so in full compliance with international law, the office said, adding that the Royal Navy’s exercise of freedom of navigation in the Taiwan Strait is not unprecedented.
In other news, the ministry criticized the inclusion of the false claim that Taiwan is part of China in a joint declaration adopted by Beijing and five of its allies at the second China-Central Asia Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, which ran from Monday to Wednesday.
The ministry said in a statement that it strongly condemns the outrageous remarks Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) made at the summit claiming that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) government has used public occasions such as meetings between heads of state to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty, it said.
The ministry said it protests and condemns the leaders and officials from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for echoing Beijing’s stance, which became part of the Astana Declaration signed during the summit.
Neither the Republic of China (Taiwan’s formal name) nor the People’s Republic of China are subordinate to one another, and the CCP has never governed Taiwan, the ministry said.
Therefore, no country should seek to deny Taiwan’s existence by issuing a joint declaration, it said.
It also urged the five countries to stop backing statements made by Beijing that are not factual and are intended to destabilize peace in the region.
Additional reporting by Huang Ching-hsuan
