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Chinese Embassy says UK meddling in its domestic affairs unacceptable

Earlier, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that she summoned the Chinese envoy in light of "increasingly aggressive behaviour and rhetoric from Beijing in recent months, which threaten peace and stability in the region"

LONDON, August 10. /TASS/. The Chinese Embassy in the UK said the summoning of China’s Ambassador Zheng Zeguang to the Foreign Office over the situation around Taiwan is an inadmissible interference in the domestic affairs of a sovereign state.

"Taiwan is an inseparable part of China’s territory. No foreign country, UK included, has the right to meddle with the internal affairs of China. What UK should do is to follow through its pledge on the one-China principle and rectify any behaviour which is to the contrary," the embassy’s statement posted on Twitter on Wednesday said.

The statement noted that during the Wednesday meeting, the Chinese envoy "firmly rejected & strongly condemned UK side’s irresponsible rhetoric about China’s legitimate & necessary response to US House Speaker’s Taiwan visit," as well as "refuted so-called concern of UK side over China’s military drills." The embassy unambiguously stated that the responsibility for the current escalation rests with the US.

Earlier, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that she summoned the Chinese envoy in light of "increasingly aggressive behaviour and rhetoric from Beijing in recent months, which threaten peace and stability in the region."

Over the past week, China held a series of military exercises in various areas along its coast amid the growing tension in the Taiwan Strait following the August 2-3 visit by Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi which was sharply criticized by mainland China. Beijing has repeatedly cautioned Washington that it would take retaliatory measures if Pelosi visited Taipei.

On August 4, China’s armed forces began large-scale military drills with live firing exercises in six areas in the waters around Taiwan. It was planned to complete these exercises by noon on Sunday (07:00 Moscow time) but then they were extended indefinitely.

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