China condemns S. Korea, US, Japan for remarks on Taiwan issue
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, center, speaks to the press before a trilateral meeting with South Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun, right, and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano at Iron Bell Farm in Virginia, U.S., May 31. Yonhap
China's embassy in Korea has expressed "strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition" to Korea, the United States, and Japan for their recent remarks regarding the Taiwan issue, calling them "consecutive erroneous statements."
On Friday, senior Korean, U.S., and Japanese diplomats met in the U.S. and announced that they oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the waters of the Indo-Pacific and recognize the importance of opposing unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea.
On Sunday, defense ministers from the three countries also met in Singapore and reaffirmed their position calling for peace and stability in the South China Sea.
"These actions rudely interfere in China's internal affairs and maliciously smear and attack China. China expresses strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to this and has lodged solemn representations with Korea," according to a statement by a spokesperson for the embassy posted on Chinese social media platform WeChat.
The spokesperson said Korea repeatedly colludes with the U.S. and Japan, which is inconsistent with the spirit of the China-Korea strategic cooperative partnership and detrimental to the development of the bilateral relations.
"We urge Korea to be cautious in its words and actions on Taiwan and South China Sea issues and to take concrete actions to safeguard the overall interests of China-Korea relations," the statement said.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson also said Monday that the three countries used their trilateral defense ministers' meeting and trilateral vice foreign minister-level dialogue to "deliberately attack and vilify China."
Meanwhile, South Korea reiterated that its stance on the issue remains unchanged. The Seoul government has repeatedly stated its commitment to respecting the "One China" policy.
"Our government's basic position on the Taiwan issue remains unchanged," Lim Soo-suk, a foreign ministry spokesperson, said during a regular press briefing. He added that the Seoul government is closely communicating with Beijing on various issues concerning the two countries.
"We hope for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and for the peaceful development of cross-strait relations through dialogue and cooperation," Lim said. (Yonhap)