Russia says China has right to conduct Taiwan military exercises
- Beijing has carried out the last of three days of drills around the self-governed island of Taiwan, which China views as part of its territory
- Kremlin spokesman said ‘you and I have witnessed actions provocative toward China’, which has ‘sovereign right’ to respond, according to ‘international law’
The Kremlin said on Monday that China had every right to respond to what it called repeated “provocations” against it and carry out military exercises around Taiwan.
Beijing on Monday carried out the last of three days of drills around the self-governed island – including practising aerial and naval blockade manoeuvres – which China views as part of its own territory, something Taiwan’s government strongly disputes.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said everyone should respect China and its actions which were in line with international law.
“In a very short period of time, you and I have witnessed repeated actions that have been provocative toward the People’s Republic of China,” said Peskov.
“And, of course, China has the sovereign right to respond to these provocative actions, including conducting military manoeuvres in strict compliance with international law.”
Peskov also suggested that France, whose president Emmanuel Macron visited China for talks last week, could not broker peace in Ukraine as Paris is “both indirectly and directly involved in this conflict on the side of Ukraine. Therefore, it is still difficult to imagine any mediation efforts here”.
During his trip, Macron called on Chinese leader Xi Jinping to “bring Russia back to its senses” over Ukraine.