South Korea hits back at China’s ‘rude’ retort in war of words over Taiwan
- Seoul summons Chinese ambassador to complain about ‘serious diplomatic discourtesy’
- Row centres on President Yoon Suk-yeol’s suggestion the self-ruled island is a ‘global issue’
The protest was in response to the Chinese foreign ministry’s “rude” reaction to South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s statement on Wednesday that Taiwan “is a global issue”.
“In response to our leader’s mention of the universal principle that we oppose the change of the status quo [of Taiwan] by force … [Wang] made an unspeakable statement,” the South Korean foreign ministry said in a statement.
Chang said China should make efforts to clear unnecessary obstacles to bilateral relations brought by this incident.
But Beijing doubled down on Friday, saying the South Korean foreign ministry’s comments were “erroneous” and China had lodged its own concerns on the issue.
“The political foundation of Sino-South Korean relations requires the South Korean side to abide by the spirit of the joint communiqué on the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea, and be cautious in words and deeds on the Taiwan issue,” Wang said.