China says Taiwan ‘has no right’ to join United Nations

China has reacted furiously to a statement by the US, as tensions in the region continue to rise and the situation grows “more dangerous” every day.

Chinese President Xi Jinping opens the World Economic Forum. Picture: World Economic Forum/AFP

China insisted Wednesday that Taiwan had no right to join the United Nations, after the United States ratcheted up tensions with a call for the democratic island to have greater involvement in the world body.

In a statement marking 50 years since the UN General Assembly voted to seat Beijing and boot out Taipei, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday he regretted that Taiwan had been increasingly excluded on the world stage.

“As the international community faces an unprecedented number of complex and global issues, it is critical for all stakeholders to help address these problems. This includes the 24 million people who live in Taiwan,” Mr Blinken said.

“Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the UN system is not a political issue, but a pragmatic one,” he said.

“That is why we encourage all UN member states to join us in supporting Taiwan’s robust, meaningful participation throughout the UN system and in the international community.”

China considers Taiwan — where nationalist forces fled in 1949 after losing a civil war to the communists — to be a province awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

It responded to Mr Blinken’s statement with strident, albeit familiar, statements emphasising its position that Taiwan’s government had no place on the global diplomatic stage.

“Taiwan has no right to join the United Nations,” Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing, told reporters.

“The United Nations is an international governmental organisation composed of sovereign states … Taiwan is a part of China.”

The United States has long called for Taiwan’s inclusion in UN activities. Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu thanked the US for its support. “We appreciate it very much,” he said.

“We’ll continue to fight for our rights in international organisations,” Mr Wu told reporters in Prague during an official tour, adding the situation was “growing more dangerous” as China keeps sending troops into the Taiwan Strait.

“We are determined to defend ourselves,” Mr Wu said.

A Taiwan F-16 fighter, left, monitors a Chinese H-6 bomber in 2018. Picture: Taiwan Defence Ministry/AFP

Defence of Taiwan

The latest statement adds to an escalation of diplomatic rhetoric and military posturing over Taiwan.

China is regularly setting records for its number of warplane flights near the island.

US President Joe Biden last week told a televised forum that the United States was ready to defend Taiwan from any Chinese invasion.

Those comments were quickly walked back by the White House amid warnings from China, continuing a strategy of ambiguity on whether it would intervene militarily if China attacked.

The United States switched recognition in 1979 to Beijing.

But Congress at the same time approved the Taiwan Relations Act that obligated the supply of weapons to the island for its self-defence.

Mr Blinken on Tuesday reiterated that the United States still recognised only Beijing.

But he emphasised the democratic credentials of the island of 23 million people. “Taiwan has become a democratic success story,” Mr Blinken said. “We are among the many UN member states who view Taiwan as a valued partner and trusted friend.”

Mr Blinken pointed to Taiwan’s exclusion from meetings associated with the International Civil Aviation Organization and the World Health Organisation.

He noted that Taiwan was hailed for its “world-class” response to Covid-19 — which largely spared the island after early intervention — and that tens of millions of passengers go through Taiwanese airports each year.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen welcomed Mr Blinken’s remarks.

“Grateful for #US support for expanding #Taiwan’s international participation,” she said on Twitter.

“We stand ready to work with all like-minded partners to contribute our expertise in international organisations, mechanisms and events.”

Taiwanese soldiers staging an attack during an annual drill in 2018. Picture: Mandy Cheng/AFP

Biden criticises China

It came as Mr Biden on Wednesday criticised Beijing’s “coercive” actions across the Taiwan Strait in an address to a summit of Asia-Pacific nations also attended by China’s Premier.

Speaking via video link to the summit, Mr Biden said the United States was “deeply concerned by China’s coercive and proactive actions … across the Taiwan Strait” which separates the island from mainland China.

Such actions “threaten regional peace and stability”, he said, according to a recording of his remarks obtained by AFP.

Mr Biden was speaking at the East Asia Summit, which brings together 18 Asia-Pacific nations — although the leaders met virtually this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang was attending, along with Russian President Vladimir Putin and leaders of South Korea and Japan.

The US President’s comments come at a time of high tensions between Washington and Beijing over Taiwan, with Mr Biden pressing ahead with rigid policies against China that appear broadly in line with those of his predecessor Donald Trump.

Mr Biden also took aim at China’s maritime claims during Wednesday’s summit, saying the US was “fully committed to the freedom of the seas, open waterways, and unimpeded flow of commerce, including in the South China Sea”.

Beijing has overlapping claims in the flashpoint sea with several Southeast Asian states.

He also said the US will “speak out for human rights in Xinjiang and in Tibet, and the rights of the people of Hong Kong”.

The summit was organised by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and capped three days of annual meetings hosted by the 10-member bloc.

The focus has been Myanmar, which has been in crisis since a military takeover in February.

At Wednesday’s summit, Mr Biden said the United States “stands with the people of Myanmar and calls for the military regime to end the violence, release all political prisoners and return to the path of democracy”.

Mr Biden also held separate talks with ASEAN leaders Tuesday.