Ministry of National Defense: 'Seriously Poisoned' Relations

We're not in the habit of sharing political stories; however, the events of the last couple of days may end up shaping Sino-US relations well after the coronavirus pandemic subsides. 

President Trump's recent tweet of "We are working closely together" after a call with President Xi Jinping yesterday seemingly presents a conciliatory tone; however, the recent signing of the TAIPEI Bill, which promises to support Taiwan's "consolidation of diplomatic relations" has angered many in China.

The National People's Congress Foreign Affairs Committee issued the following statement after the signing:

On March 26, local time, the United States signed the so-called "Taipei Act of 2019" into law in spite of China's repeated solemn representations. This move seriously violates the one-China principle and the three Sino-US joint communiques, seriously violates international law and basic norms of international relations, grossly interferes in China's internal affairs, and sends a serious wrong signal to the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces. The National People's Congress of China has expressed strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition.

Just before that, Senior Colonel Ren Guoqiang, spokesman of the Ministry of National Defense, was condeming recent "provocative actions" taken by the United States against China's navy, warning that such activities have undermined Chinese sovereignty, poisoned bilateral relations and disrupted regional peace and security and urged the US to strengthen strategic dialogue based on mutual respect, properly handle differences, facilitate practical cooperation and help steer military-to-military development in a positive direction. 

The honor guards of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy stand in formation before a naval parade staged to mark the 70th founding anniversary of the PLA Navy at a pier in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province, on April 23, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

Colonel Ren also shared that while the PLA naval fleet was conducting a routine drill in international waters on Feb 27th, a US P-8A surveillance plane ignored numerous warnings from the Chinese and closely spied on the Chinese fleet for over four hours. "The closest distance between the Chinese ship and plane was only 400 meters," he said. "The dangerous maneuvers by the US plane were extremely inappropriate, unprofessional and unsafe."

Ren also touched on the relationship between the US and Taiwan, saying recent actions by the US have seriously interfered with China's domestic affairs, damaged cross-Straits peace and stability and "seriously poisoned the two nations' military relations and bilateral ties".

Sources:

• China blasts 'provocative actions' by US http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202003/27/WS5e7d415ba31012821728258d.html

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