Beijing Affirms China's Taiwan Strait, Not Quo Status

The Chinese Command Army conducted firing exercises with the original long-range ammunition armament in the Taiwan Strait (4/8/2022). (Between/Xinhua/Lai Qiaoquan)

JAKARTA - Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Friday said that the Taiwan Strait belongs to China and Beijing will never allow any party to trampled on its sovereignty, according to a Global Times daily report.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Lanting Forum on Modernization of China and the World in Shanghai, Qin said that Taiwan has been an inseparable part of China's territory since ancient times, and the island's return to China is part of the postwar international order.

He denounced a statement accusing China of opposing the international order and changing the status quo in the Taiwan Strait as absurd.

"It's not mainland China, but Taiwan's independence separatist forces, and some countries, which are trying to break international rules and change the status quo unilaterally," Qin said as reported by Antara.

China considers Taiwan as part of its territory, so Beijing often criticizes high-level meetings between Taiwanese leaders and foreign national officials.

China recently held military exercises around Taiwan after Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen met US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles.

"Those who played with the fire over Taiwan will eventually catch fire themselves," Qin said.