UK Foreign Office summons Chinese envoy over Taiwan tensions
Aug 10, 2022
London [UK], August 10 : British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on Wednesday summoned the Chinese Ambassador to explain his country's actions following Beijing's "aggressive behaviour" near Taiwan.
"The UK and partners have condemned in the strongest terms China's escalation in the region around Taiwan, as seen through our recent G7 statement," Truss said in a statement.
"I instructed officials to summon the Chinese Ambassador to explain his country's actions. We have seen increasingly aggressive behaviour and rhetoric from Beijing in recent months, which threaten peace and stability in the region," she added.
Truss, who is in the final race to become the next UK Prime Minister, urged China to resolve any differences by peaceful means, without the threat or use of force or coercion.
Tensions started brewing between Taiwan and China after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the self-ruled island that Beijing regards as its breakaway province.
UK's concern comes as China released a white paper titled "The Taiwan Question and China's Reunification in the New Era", reiterating its claims on the self-ruled island with over 22 million people.
The white paper was released today, a week after Pelosi's visit to Taiwan which led to tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
Chinese state media said the white paper was released to "reiterate the fact" that Taiwan is part of China and to demonstrate the resolve of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and their commitment to national reunification.
According to Xinhua news agency, the white paper emphasizes the position and policies of the CPC and the Chinese government in the new era. It states that Taiwan "belongs to China" since ancient times, stating that this claim has a "sound basis in history and jurisprudence."
Last week, the Group of Seven (G7) nations said that there's "no justification" for Beijing to use Pelosi's visit "as a pretext for aggressive military activity in the Taiwan Strait."
"We are concerned by recent and announced threatening actions by the People's Republic of China (PRC), particularly live-fire exercises and economic coercion, which risk unnecessary escalation. There is no justification to use a visit as pretext for aggressive military activity in the Taiwan Strait," the Foreign Ministers of G7 said in a statement.
The G7 ministers called on China not to unilaterally change the status quo by force in the region, and to resolve cross-Strait differences by peaceful means. They also reiterated their commitment to maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
