China Drill
French, Japanese FM's condemn Chinese drills
Paris: French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna and her Japanese counterpart, Hayashi Yoshimasa, consider China's military exercises off Taiwan waters dangerous and call on the sides to prevent escalation, French Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday.
China launched a large-scale military exercise in the eastern Taiwan Strait on Thursday in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taipei last week. Pelosi, who ignored Beijing's repeated warnings, is the highest-ranking US official to come to Taiwan in 14 years.
"The ministers expressed their deep concern over the large-scale military exercises that China has been conducting around Taiwan for several days, and especially over the launch of ballistic missiles, five of which landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone. The minister expressed France’s full solidarity with Japan in this situation. The two ministers emphasized the dangerous nature of these actions and the need to avoid any kind of escalation that raises tensions in the region," the ministry said in a statement, following a phone call between the two ministers.
Colonna also reaffirmed France's commitment to one China policy, preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Pelosi's visit triggered a new round of tension in the Taiwan Strait. In addition to the launch of military exercises on August 4, Beijing imposed sanctions against two Taiwanese foundations for separatist activities, suspended the export of natural sand to the island and the import of citrus fruits, as well as some types of fish products from Taiwan. Tokyo lodged a protest later on August 4 with Beijing after five out of 11 Chinese missiles fell in the exclusive economic zone of Japan.
(With UNI inputs)
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