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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| China accuses France of illegally sailing warship in Taiwan Strait |
| 2019-04-27 |
| [FT] China has accused La Belle France of "illegally entering Chinese waters" after a French naval vessel sailed through the Taiwan Strait earlier this month, in an escalation of its rhetoric that highlights rising tensions over the status of the island nation that Beijing claims as its territory. Senior Colonel Ren Guoqiang, China defence ministry front man, said on Thursday that Beijing had made stern representationsto Gay Paree over the passage of the French warship and said the Chinese navy had sent ships to warn the French ship to leave the waterway, according to news hounds present at the presser. China sees Taiwan as its territory and has threatened annexation if Taipei refuses indefinitely to give up its de facto independence. The French defence ministry made no immediate comment on Thursday. But defence officials told the Financial Times that the French navy had been transiting the Taiwan Strait at least once a year without any problem or reaction from the Chinese side. "La Belle France reaffirms its commitment to freedom of navigation in accordance with the law of the sea," said one. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Great look when even the French Navy's flipping you off. |
| Posted by: Raj 2019-04-27 06:43 |