China is the real threat, Taiwan says in rebuff to Munich speech

China is the real threat to security and is hypocritically claiming to uphold U.N. principles of peace, Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said on Sunday in a rebuff to comments by China's top diplomat at the Munich Security Conference.

China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, a view the government in Taipei rejects, saying only Taiwan's people can decide their future.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, addressing the annual security conference on Saturday, warned that some countries were "trying to split Taiwan from China", blamed Japan for tensions over the island and underscored the importance of upholding the United Nations Charter.

Taiwan's Lin said in a statement that whether viewed from historical facts, objective reality or under international law, Taiwan's sovereignty has never belonged to the People's Republic of China.

Lin said that Wang had "boasted" of upholding the purposes of the U.N. Charter and had blamed other countries for regional tensions.

"In fact, China has recently engaged in military provocations in surrounding areas and has repeatedly and openly violated U.N. Charter principles on refraining from the use of force or the threat of force," Lin said. This "once again exposes a hegemonic mindset that does not match its words with its actions."

Reuters