A spokesperson for the People's Republic of China has aggressively denounced what they call US and Australian interference in the Pacific and East Asia region amidst long-term fears that China may one day invade the island of Taiwan, which it claims as its own territory.
The slight against the US comes as Australia spoke out against the potential of China building a military base on the Solomon Islands, which the Australian Prime Minister has called a 'red-line'.
When questioned on the issue of the Solomon Islands base Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said:
"The security cooperation between China and Solomon Islands is based on equality and mutual benefits. It is within the sovereignty of our two countries and consistent with international law and international customary practice. The cooperation is open, transparent, legitimate, lawful and irreproachable. The speculation that China will build a military base in Solomon Islands is pure disinformation fabricated by a handful of people who harbour ulterior motives."
The foreign minister also said that the new defence-pact between Australia the US and the UK, known as AUKUS was itself a non-transparent alliance. He said:
"I have noted that the US and Australian accuse the framework agreement on security cooperation between China and Solomon Islands of not being transparent. However, it is the AUKUS security partnership that is neither open nor transparent. When will the US and Australia invite South Pacific island countries and other regional countries to review AUKUS cooperation? The US claims that China's military presence will cause grave concerns. If we follow this logic, the nearly 800 military bases in 80 countries and regions across the world run by the US have long been of major concern for the world. When will the US shut down those bases?"
When questioned on whether China would breach the UN charter and invade Taiwan, the Foreign Minister suggested that it was instead the US that has breached the UN charter, saying:
"The US purports to maintain the centrality of the UN Charter, but it is clear to anyone that the US is doing quite the opposite. When the UN Security Council refused to authorize the US' use of force in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Iraq, Syria and other places, the US and NATO brushed the UN aside and waged wars on sovereign states in wanton interference."
"The US claims to respect human rights, but the wars of aggression launched by the US and its allies in countries including Afghanistan and Iraq killed over 300,000 civilians and made over 26 million people refugees. Yet, no one is held accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The US even announced sanctions on the International Criminal Court who would investigate the war crimes of the US military."
Many feared that China would use the brutal invasion of Ukraine as an opportunity to claim Taiwan, however, there are as of yet no indications that China is seriously going to attempt such an invasion.
[Based on reporting by: Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America]
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