China strongly opposes any form of official contact between EU & Taiwan: 'Act prudently'

China “firmly opposes official exchanges of any form” between the European Union (EU) and Taiwan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning on Tuesday. “Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. The one-China principle is a universally recognized norm in international relations and the political foundation for China-EU relations. As an official institution of the EU, the European Parliament must abide by the one-China principle” Mao told a press briefing. She urged the EU to “earnestly observe the one-China principle and act prudently, so as to avoid disrupting the overall China-EU relations”.

In September this year, Politico reported that European Union Intelligence and Situation Center (EUINTCEN) Director Jose Casimiro Morgado scrapped a planned visit to Taiwan after officials in Beijing found out about it. The PRC reportedly put successful pressure on Brussels to cancel the trip, which was planned for next month. China’s discovery of Morgado’s planned itinerary also caused consternation about whether Beijing got the info about the top-secret visit via electronic or human intelligence, according to the outlet. An EU official assured Politico that Morgado never intended to travel to Taiwan at all, and that he merely planned a telephone conversation with Taiwanese officials.

August saw US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visit Taiwan beginning August 2 and trigger stark opposition from Beijing while sparking concerns within the United States and around the Indo-Pacific about the impacts of the visit and the Chinese military response on regional security. Following the visit, Beijing launched large-scale military exercises, raising discussion of a possible Fourth Taiwan Strait Crisis.Among U.S. allies in the region, Japan was most forward leaning in condemning the PRC military exercises, stated the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. 

Delegation from EU visits Taiwan on Monday

A delegation from the European Parliament's International Trade committee (INTA) arrived in Taiwan on Monday on a four-day visit to discuss Taiwan-EU bilateral trade and investment. Tensions between mainland China on the one hand, and Taiwan and countries boosting cooperation with the island on the other hand, escalated after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island in early August. Beijing condemned Pelosi's trip, which it regarded as a gesture of support for separatism, and held large-scale military exercises in the vicinity of the island. Despite this fact, several countries, including France, Germany, the United States, Japan and others, have sent their delegations to the island since then, further increasing tensions in the Taiwan Strait.