Beijing warns MPs’ Taiwan trip threatens Australia-China ties

Beijing has blasted Australia over an upcoming parliamentary delegation to Taiwan, warning the bipartisan trip violates Australia’s ‘One China’ policy.

Taiwan’s president-elect Lai Ching-te attends a cybersecurity expo in Taipei on Wednesday. Picture: AFP

Beijing has blasted Australia over an upcoming parliamentary ­delegation to Taiwan, saying the bipartisan trip violates Australia’s “One China” policy.

The five member delegation departs for Taipei on Saturday to attend next week’s inauguration of Taiwan’s president-elect Lai Ching-te.

Labor’s Raff Ciccone and Luke Gosling will be joined on the four-day visit by the Coalition’s David Fawcett, Claire Chandler and Scott Buchholz.

The Chinese embassy in Canberra issued a statement on Wednesday warning Australia that Taiwan was “an inalienable part of China’s territory”, and urging the Albanese government not to deviate from its recognition of the People’s Republic of China as the country’s sole legal government.

“The visit to Taiwan by the Australian parliamentarians and their attendance of the president-elect’s inauguration violates the One China principle, blatantly emboldens and supports the ­Taiwan independence separatist ­activities,” the embassy said.

“We hope that relevant members of the Australian parliament will adhere to the fact that Taiwan is a province of China and respect the sentiments of the 1.4 billion Chinese people.”

It called for Australia to “fully honour” its commitment to the One China policy “without any compromise or inconsistency”, and to safeguard hard-won improvements in the Australia-China relationship.

Mr Ciccone, chair of the Senate’s foreign affairs, defence and trade committee, said the trip was “entirely consistent with Australia’s One China Policy”.

“Australian parliamentarians from both sides of the aisle have a tradition of visiting Taiwan,” he said. “Taiwan and Australia are Indo-Pacific democracies with a shared interest in a peaceful and stable region.

“The Prime Minister has already congratulated Dr Lai Ching-te on his victory in the election and I look forward to celebrating the vibrancy of Taiwan’s democracy with the Taiwanese people at the inauguration of their new president.”

Labor senator Raff Ciccone.

China’s fury over the trip comes ahead of an expected trip to Australia by Chinese Premier Li Qiang next month, and follows a Chinese fighter jet’s dangerous encounter with an Australian navy helicopter in the Yellow Sea less than a fortnight ago.

The federal government has protested the mid-air incident in which the PLA-Air Force jet dropped flares in front of the helicopter as it enforced sanctions against North Korea.

The upcoming parliamentary trip comes just a month after another delegation of federal MPs visited Taipei to meet Taiwan’s outgoing President Tsai Ing-Wen and key government, ­security and defence officials. Under Australia’s One China policy, the government does not recognise Taiwan as a sovereign country but maintains economic and informal political connections.

The inauguration will further escalate tensions across the Taiwan Strait, and follows multiple “combat patrols” by Chinese fighter jets near the self-governed island this month.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said 23 Chinese military aircraft including advanced stealth fighters crossed the median line between mainland China and Taiwan on Tuesday, carrying out “joint combat readiness patrols” in conjunction with Chinese warships.

US and Taiwanese ships carried out an unofficial joint naval exercise in April, which Beijing branded a “stunt”.