Taiwan’s government took a small group of foreign lawmakers on a Coast Guard ship around sensitive Taiwan-controlled islands next to the Chinese coast on Thursday, pushing back against China’s Coast Guard whose patrols have angered Taipei.
China’s Claims
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and recognises no claims of sovereignty or maritime jurisdiction by Taipei.
On board the Taiwan Coast Guard ship PP-10081 for a 90-minute tour in waters around the Kinmen islands were seven foreign lawmakers and two Taiwanese members of parliament.
The trip, believed to be the first of its kind, underscores Taiwan’s efforts to draw international attention to the dispute at a time when China’s expanding maritime patrols are testing Taiwan’s ability to defend its waters and raising alarm among some Western governments.
International Support
Britain’s Tom Tugendhat, a former security minister and a strident China critic, told Reuters on the boat that being there, in waters where China claims jurisdiction, was an important show of support for Taiwan.
Joining him were two other British lawmakers, as well as one each from Ukraine, the Czech Republic, India and New Zealand, all members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
