EP condemns China's continued military provocations against Taiwan

USPA NEWS - European Parliament condemns China's continued military provocations against Taiwan and firmly rejects any unilateral change to the status-quo in the Taiwan Strait. These attempts, particularly by means of force or coercion, will not be accepted and will incur a decisive and firm reaction, warn MEPs.

In a resolution adopted by 432 votes in favor, 60 against and 71 abstentions on Thursday, they condemn China’s unwarranted military exercises of October 14 and continued military provocations against Taiwan, stressing that the military build-up changes the power balance in the Indo-Pacific.

Parliament strongly rejects China’s attempts to distort history and international rules and underlines that UN resolution 2758 does not take a position on Taiwan. It opposes China’s constant efforts to block Taiwan’s participation in multilateral organizations and calls on the EU and its member states to support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations such as the World Health Organization, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. MEPs also urge the UN to grant Taiwanese nationals and journalists the right to access its premises.

The EU remains committed to its ‘One China’ policy as the political foundation of EU-China relations, supporting initiatives that foster dialogue and confidence-building, stresses the text. MEPs strongly condemn statements by the Chinese President that the People’s Republic of China will never renounce the right to use force with respect to Taiwan, insisting that using coercive measures to achieve unification contradicts international law.

They highlight that only Taiwan’s democratically elected government can represent the Taiwanese people internationally and express their concern over China’s use of hostile disinformation to undermine trust in Taiwan’s democracy and governance.

China’s increasingly aggressive behaviour, in particular in its own neighbourhood, such as the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, poses a risk to regional and global security, say MEPs. The EU and its member states should step up their own maritime capacities in the region. Parliament also voices concerns about China and Russia’s renewed commitment to further strengthen their military ties, condemning the Chinese supply of equipment to Moscow.