BEIJING, September 13. /TASS/. Chinese authorities believe that the provocations of third countries that are trying to stage them in the Taiwan Strait under the pretext of the freedom of navigation are inadmissible, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said.
"We firmly oppose any act of provocation under the pretext of freedom of navigation that harms China’s sovereignty and security," she said at a briefing commenting on reports that Germany’s two warships might transit through the Taiwan Strait.
The Chinese diplomat added that Beijing respects countries’ rights and abides by international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). She recalled that that "one-China principle is a basic norm in international relations."
"The Taiwan question is not about freedom of navigation but about China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity," Mao Ning said.
The Nikkei Asia newspaper previously reported citing sources that two German naval vessels might pass through the Taiwan Strait in the next few days on a first such mission since 2002.
Taiwan has been governed by its own administration since 1949, when the remnants of the Kuomintang forces under Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled to the island after being defeated in the Chinese civil war. Taipei has since retained the flag and some other attributes of the former Republic of China, which had existed on the mainland before the Communists came to power. Beijing considers Taiwan to be a province of the People’s Republic of China, and this position is supported by most countries, including Russia.