EU parliament resolution slams China’s aggression towards Taiwan

European Parliament members have overwhelmingly backed a resolution that condemns China’s military aggression against Taiwan and said that Beijing’s “provocative actions” must have consequences on relations with the European Union.

Stating that the European Union and Taiwan are “like-minded partners” that adhere to the values of “freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law”, the resolution was adopted on Thursday by 424 members of the parliament with 14 against and 46 abstentions.

The hard-hitting resolution said that between August 4 and 10 China had intensified its “long-standing military intimidation against Taiwan”, which included firing 11 ballistic missiles, at least five of which passed over the island.

China had also implemented an effective blockade of Taiwan’s air and sea space during the drills and conducted a powerful cyberattack against Taiwan’s private sector and state authorities, the resolution states.

Chinese ballistic missiles fired during the exercise had landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, the resolution notes, adding that China’s aggressive actions in the wide region had brought it into dispute with several other countries.

The People’s Republic of China [PRC] “has been behaving aggressively across a vast [area] of the Indo-Pacific and exerting varying degrees of military or economic coercion, which has led to disputes with neighbours such as Japan, India, the Philippines and Australia,” the resolution stated.

Agencies