Chinese Foreign Ministry

China on Thursday urged the relevant countries to respect China's sovereignty, territorial integrity and maritime rights and stop mischaracterizing truth and facts over China's legitimate maritime law enforcement operations in waters east of Taiwan island. 

Relevant institutions should not make statements unsuited to their identity, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a regular press briefing on Thursday. 

He made the remarks in response to "concerns" expressed by the US, UK, France and Germany that recent Chinese activities off Taiwan's east coast, where China has deployed Coast Guard patrols, threaten regional stability, freedom of navigation, and the safety of international shipping.

In a joint statement released on Wednesday, which Reuters dubbed a "rare" one, three representative offices of the UK, France and Germany in Taipei claimed that they "have noted with concern" China's activities, which "threaten regional stability and the freedom of navigation and safety of international shipping."

Following the statements by the three representative offices, a spokesperson for the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) also expressed concern, per Taiwan-based media.

The statement and remarks did not specify which Chinese activities they refer to. Nevertheless, international and Taiwan-based media have identified them as the law enforcement patrol carried out by China Coast Guard (CCG) in waters east of Taiwan island on June 1 in response to the unilateral announcement of maritime delimitation talks by Japan and the Philippines in the area.

Prior to this, spokespersons for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the China Coast Guard (CCG) and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council have stated that the so-called maritime delimitation talks by Japan and the Philippines seriously infringe upon China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, and the patrol was a necessary action taken against it. 

At Thursday's press conference, Guo reiterated that according to China's domestic law and international law including UNCLOS, China has exclusive economic zone and continental shelf in waters east of China's Taiwan island. 

Chinese authorities' law enforcement and patrol activities in these waters are legitimate actions to exercise China's jurisdiction, safeguard regional stability and uphold order at sea in accordance with the law. These actions are also a necessary response to Japan and the Philippines' manipulation of their delimitation agenda and violation of China's maritime rights and interests, Guo said. 

A Beijing-based European affairs expert told the Global Times on condition of anonymity on Thursday that representative offices of the US, UK, France and Germany in Taipei deliberately evade the full context and disregard the legitimacy of China's efforts to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests. Their accusations against China are completely groundless, and the relevant countries should stop making unwarranted remarks about China's internal affairs.

'Forked-tongued declarations'

Notably, the joint statement was first released by the three European nations, followed by the AIT spokesperson's remarks. The Beijing-based expert said that with the US visibly toning down its provocative rhetoric and moves regarding Taiwan recently, European countries appear to be currying favor with Washington by taking more radical stances on Taiwan-related affairs.

Three representative offices of European countries are "indulging in an exercise of crass interference in the affairs of a sovereign country, China," Laurent Michelon, a French scholar, entrepreneur and geopolitical commentator, said in an X post on Wednesday. 

He added that the latest statement "summarizes the forked-tongued declarations" of Western leaders who claim to be in favor of maintaining a status quo in the Taiwan Straits, when in fact they are doing everything in their power to disrupt it: multiple military patrols in the China Sea, selling weapons that Taiwan does not need, and, most of all, heavily supporting the separatist Taiwan authorities.

Against a backdrop of lingering internal rifts across Europe, the UK, France and Germany are attempting to present a unified, cohesive front on security issues as a means of boosting their international visibility, Cui Hongjian, a professor at the Academy of Regional and Global Governance at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times.

On the other hand, Cui noticed that the three countries opted to issue a Taiwan-related statement through their unofficial representative offices in Taipei instead of through official diplomatic bodies, which suggests they are not willing to completely disrupt the overall bilateral diplomatic atmosphere; however, they should still refrain from interfering in China's internal affairs. 

Since last December, leaders of France, Britain and Germany visited China one after another, each reiterating their commitment to the one-China policy throughout their trips.

At this juncture, the China strategies pursued by the UK, France and Germany are defined by glaring internal contradictions. Though all three nations seek to deepen pragmatic economic and trade cooperation with Beijing, they remain entrenched in structural ideological divides with China across political and security domains, said Cui. 

As frictions persist between China-Japan and China-Philippines, the expert argued that some European countries are seeking to secure more bargaining chips over other disputed issues by meddling in China's internal affairs and projecting influence across China's neighboring regions.

Following the release of the joint statement, the "external affairs department" of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities expressed gratitude, adding that the statement continues the G7 summit statement which expressed opposition to "any unilateral attempts to change the status quo" of the Taiwan Straits. 

Noticeably, any Taiwan-related remarks coming from the European side, regardless of the issuing rank, are invariably overblown and hyped by the DPP authorities for political posturing, the Beijing-based expert said.

He added that the DPP authorities take European countries' statements as backing for themselves, unaware that every European stance masks self-interested calculations. If the Taiwan authorities misjudge the "external support" and escalate provocations against the mainland, it will only suffer losses and bear bitter consequences in the end.

The DPP authorities are playing deaf to the infringement of Japan and the Philippines and even joining with external forces to vilify the Central Government's effort to safeguard rights, and peddle their separatist narratives. It once again exposes the DPP authorities' separatist nature and betrayal of the overriding interest of the Chinese nation. What awaits them is contempt from the people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits and the judgment of history, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo said on Thursday.