Beijing protests over Japan-Taiwan coastguard joint rescue exercise
- Foreign ministry says Tokyo must ‘abide by the one-China principle’ and ‘correct its mistakes immediately’
China has lodged a protest with Japan after its coastguard took part in a joint rescue exercise with its Taiwanese counterpart.
“We are strongly dissatisfied with and firmly oppose Japan’s joint maritime training with Taiwan, and have lodged solemn representations with the Japanese side,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Friday.
The joint Japan-Taiwan exercises, which took place on Thursday in waters to the south of the Tokyo-Yokohama area, were the first of their kind in more than 50 years.
Lin said Japan had made solemn commitments to China, including a pledge not to support Taiwanese independence, and this was “the position and principle that Japan must follow”.
“We urge Japan to abide by the one-China principle … correct its mistakes immediately, and not condone or support Taiwan independence separatist forces in any form,” Lin said, citing a series of agreements signed between 1972 and 2008.
Lin added that Japan must “be cautious in words and deeds on the East China Sea and South China Sea issues, and not create disturbances to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and China-Japan relations”.
The two countries have a long-running dispute over the Diaoyu Islands, also known as the Senkakus, in the East China Sea, while Beijing’s expansive claims in the South China Sea are contested by a number of its neighbours.
