TAIPEI: The Taiwan Strait does not belong to China and any attempts to create tension threaten global security, the island’s defence ministry said on Monday (Feb 17), after Beijing criticised Canada for sailing a warship through the sensitive waterway.
The US Navy and occasionally ships from allied countries like Canada, Britain and France, transit the strait, which they consider an international waterway, around once a month.
Taiwan also considers it an international waterway but China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, says the strategic waterway belongs to it.
Last week the first US Navy ships transited the strait since President Donald Trump took office last month, drawing an angry reaction from China, which said the mission increased security risks.
Taiwan’s defence ministry said China had responded to those sailings by carrying out “joint combat readiness patrols”.
“The Taiwan Strait is absolutely not within the scope of China’s sovereignty,” the ministry said in a statement.
Freedom of navigation by “friendly and allied” countries through the strait are concrete actions that highlight the strait’s legal status, and China is trying to create a false appearance that the strait is an “internal issue”, it added.
“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 ministry said.
“Any deliberate attempts by the communist’s military to create tension in the Taiwan Strait will pose a real threat to global security.”
Neither China’s defence ministry nor Taiwan Affairs Office immediately responded to requests for comment.
Source: CNA
