Beijing denounces joint declaration after summit between Washington, Seoul and Tokyo

China on Monday denounced the statement issued by Washington, Seoul and Tokyo at a recent summit in the United States, in which they oppose Beijing’s “dangerous and aggressive behavior” in the Asia Pacific region.

Beijing has expressed “strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition and has made solemn representations to relevant parties,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said during a regular press briefing.

US President Joe Biden last week hosted the leaders of South Korea and Japan at Camp David, near Washington, for a summit he called “historic”.

In a joint statement released on Friday, the United States, Japan and South Korea condemned China’s “dangerous and aggressive behavior” and “illegal maritime claims” amid tensions in the South China Sea that Beijing claims in its entirety, at the expense of other powers in the region.

In this joint text, dubbed “The Spirit of Camp David”, the three powers declare themselves “firmly (opposed to) any unilateral attempt to change the status quo in the waters of the Asia-Pacific region, and reaffirm “the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait”.

Beijing said on Monday that “the leaders of the United States, Japan and the ROK have denigrated and attacked China on maritime and Taiwan-related issues, interfered in China’s internal affairs and deliberately sowed discord between China and its neighbours”.

China’s military on Saturday staged air and sea maneuvers around Taiwan, which it called a “stern warning” after a stopover in the United States by the self-governing democratic island’s vice president, William Lai, favorite in next year’s Taiwanese presidential election.

“If the countries concerned genuinely care about peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, they should uphold the one-China principle, stop endorsing and supporting Taiwanese independence-seeking separatists and their activities. , and take concrete measures to safeguard regional peace and stability,” Wang said Monday.

“The Taiwan issue is purely an internal China affair,” he added.

Beijing considers Taiwan one of its provinces, which it has yet to reunify since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.

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