Taipei: Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has denounced a joint statement issued by China and Brunei that asserts Taiwan as part of Chinese territory.

According to Focus Taiwan, in a press release issued on Saturday, MOFA stated it "strongly condemns" the two governments' claims that "Taiwan is an inalienable part of China" and rejected any statements that undermine Taiwan's sovereignty. The Republic of China (Taiwan's official name) is a sovereign and independent country and is not subordinate to the People's Republic of China (PRC), MOFA emphasized in the release.

MOFA further asserted that the PRC has never ruled Taiwan and added that Taiwan would not succumb to Beijing's "diplomatic pressure." The ministry's comments followed Brunei's head of state, Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah's visit to Beijing on Thursday, where he met with China's leader Xi Jinping.

During the meeting, the two sides issued a joint statement on deepening their strategic partnerships, with Brunei reiterating its adherence to the "one China" policy. According to the statement, Brunei endorses China's territorial claims over Taiwan and supports the peaceful development of cross-Taiwan Strait relations and China's unification goals.