Switzerland has criticized Beijing over the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) naval drills in the waters off Taiwan and Australia in a rare act of taking a stance on international affairs.
Switzerland on Thursday last week sent the Chinese government and its embassy notice that its actions increased the risk of miscalculations that could escalate regional tensions, Federal Councilor Ignazio Cassis, who heads the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs, told lawmakers on Monday.
The message is part of Switzerland’s efforts to maintain calm and encourage dialogue in East Asia and the South China Sea, he said.
Photo: AFP
Cassis communicated with China in response to a question posed by Federal Assembly member Jean-Luc Addor asking if Switzerland had commented on the Chinese drills that had increased the risk of war in a crucial region to Swiss economic and commercial interests.
Addor, who is a member of the Switzerland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group, criticized China during a legislative session, saying that Beijing’s norm-breaking behavior risked accidentally igniting a large-scale military conflict.
A source familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity that Switzerland is typically reticent about ongoing or potential foreign conflicts due to the nation’s neutrality.
For Switzerland’s top foreign affairs official to break tradition on this matter is a clear indication that maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait is of great concern to the international community, the source said.
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