Taiwan Strait waters belong to China, says Beijing on German vessels planned transit

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) – China declared on Monday that the waters of the Taiwan Strait are its "internal waters," and that it opposes any "act of provocation" under the pretext of freedom of navigation.

Responding to a question about two German vessels that are slated to transit the Taiwan Strait in mid-September, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Taiwan is an “inalienable” part of China’s territory.

“The waters of the Taiwan Strait, from both shores toward the middle of the Strait, are China’s internal waters, then territorial sea, then contiguous zone, and then exclusive economic zone,” she added.

China, she went on to say, respects countries' rights to navigate relevant waters in accordance with local and international laws.

“But we firmly oppose any act of provocation under the pretext of freedom of navigation by relevant countries that harms China’s sovereignty and security,” she warned.

China claims Taiwan as its breakaway province, whereas the latter insist on its independence.

- Pro-independence activist sentenced

China has sentenced a Taiwanese independence activist for “separatism,” which is a first, according to Taipei-based New Bloom magazine.

Yang Chih-Yuan, a co-founder of the Taiwanese National Party (TNP), a little-known pro-independence group, was sentenced to nine years in jail earlier this month.

News of Yang’s arrest first broke in 2023.

The Beijing Daily, in April 2023, reported that the Supreme People’s Procuratorate had approved Yang’s arrest following an investigation.