The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday condemned Russia for echoing China’s “false claim” that Taiwan is part of its territory after a top Russian diplomat on Tuesday said that cross-strait relations are China’s “internal affairs.”
Russia’s TASS news agency said that Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrey Rudenko said that Moscow “invariably supports” the stance of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) that the “PRC’s government is the only legitimate government representing all of China, and that Taiwan is an integral part of it.”
“At the same time, we emphasize that relations between the two parties on either side of the Taiwan Strait are a purely internal affair of China,” he said, adding that he believes Beijing is prioritizing peaceful methods to resolve the “Taiwan issue.”
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
In a statement yesterday, the ministry rejected the “false claims” made by Beijing regarding Taiwan and its sovereignty.
Taiwan is not part of the PRC, which has never ruled Taiwan, the ministry said, condemning actions by Moscow and Beijing to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty.
The ministry accused China and Russia of “endangering” peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region.
China has engaged in “information warfare,” and its military aircraft and vessels have increasingly engaged in drills near Taiwan, while the Russian invasion of Ukraine contravenes the UN charter, the ministry said.
In his comments on Tuesday, Rudenko also blamed a flare-up of cross-strait tensions on “provocative activities by Washington and its satellites.”
“The situation was seriously exacerbated when at the beginning of August 2022, [then-] US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island, and numerous trips there by American, Japanese and European officials followed,” Rudenko said.
Tensions between Washington and Beijing over Taipei were heightened after Pelosi’s visit, the first visit by a sitting US House speaker to Taiwan in 25 years.
After Pelosi’s 19-hour visit, Beijing staged large-scale military drills around Taiwan proper.
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