MOSCOW, 3 January. /TASS/. Beijing prefers peaceful methods of handling the Taiwan issue, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko has said.
"We believe that the Chinese side has the right to take measures it deems necessary to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity regarding the Taiwan issue. 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. As far as we understand, China prioritizes peaceful methods of resolving the Taiwan issue."
Rudenko recalled that lately there was been an upsurge in tensions around Taiwan due to "provocative activities by Washington and its satellites."
"The situation was seriously exacerbated when at the beginning of August 2022 US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island and numerous trips there by American, Japanese and European officials followed," Rudenko recalled. He added that the adoption of a number of US legislative initiatives to strengthen military-political contacts with Taipei aggravated the situation in the Taiwan Strait. In particular, this concerns the allocation of $2 billion annually in security support, including large-scale purchases of US weapons and military equipment in 2023-2027.
"Beijing is well aware that the Russian side invariably supports the PRC on the Taiwan issue. We proceed from the assumption that there is only one China, that the PRC’s government is the only legitimate government representing all of China, and that Taiwan is an integral part of it," Rudenko said.