Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has condemned Russia for echoing China’s “false” claim that Taiwan is part of its territory after a top Russian diplomat said Tuesday that cross-Taiwan Strait relations are China’s “internal affairs.”

According to Russian news agency TASS, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said Tuesday that Moscow “invariably supports” the People’s Republic of China (PRC) stance that the “PRC’s government is the only legitimate government representing all of China, and that Taiwan is an integral part of it.”

“At the same time, we emphasize that relations between the two parties on either side of the Taiwan Strait are a purely internal affair of China,” he said, though he believed that Beijing was prioritizing peaceful methods of resolving the Taiwan issue.

In a statement Wednesday, MOFA rejected the “false claims” made by the PRC on Taiwan, officially named the Republic of China, and its sovereignty.

Taiwan is not part of the PRC and the PRC government has never ruled Taiwan, MOFA said, adding that the action by Beijing and Moscow, which seeks to undermine the ROC’s sovereignty, should be condemned.

MOFA also criticized both China and Russia for “endangering” peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific.

China has engaged in “information warfare” and its military aircraft and vessels have increased their drills in the vicinity of Taiwan, while the Russian invasion of Ukraine has violated the United Nations charter, the ministry said.

In his comments Tuesday, Rudenko also blamed the recent tensions between China and Taiwan on “provocative activities by Washington and its satellites.”

“The situation was seriously exacerbated when at the beginning of August 2022, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island, and numerous trips there by American, Japanese and European officials followed,” Rudenko said.

Tensions between Washington and Beijing over Taipei were heightened after Pelosi’s visit in early August, the first visit by a sitting U.S. House Speaker to Taiwan in 25 years.

Beijing showed its displeasure after Pelosi’s 19-hour visit with large-scale military drills in waters around Taiwan, which went beyond previous routine fighter jet incursions of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ).

As part of the drills, Taiwan confirmed that China launched 11 ballistic missiles over Taiwan that ended up landing in nearby seas on Aug. 4.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel