At the ASEAN Regional Forum and East Asia Summit foreign ministers' meetings in
Manila, China’s delegation forcefully rejected Japanese criticisms on the Taiwan
Strait, the South China Sea and so‑called 'China threat' claims. Beijing
reiterated Taiwan is an internal Chinese matter and said it will not allow
Taiwan independence forces to separate Taiwan by any means; it added that
clearer international opposition to independence and firmer adherence to the
one‑China principle would better guarantee cross‑Strait peace and stability. On
the South China Sea, China said the route is among the world’s busiest and
safest — carrying roughly 30% of global container traffic, 34% of LNG and 40% of
crude oil annually, with millions of civilian flights overhead — and asserted no
ship or aircraft has been obstructed. Beijing blamed a small number of countries
for dispatching warships and aircraft to provoke incidents and said fewer
external provocations would strengthen regional capacity to maintain peace and
stability.
