China Coast Guard Moves East; MAC's Shen Says It's a Pretext to Push "One China Principle"

(CNA, Taipei, June 6, by reporter Li Ya-wen) Shen Yu-chung, Deputy Minister of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), stated at a seminar today that mainland China is using the Japan-Philippines negotiations on their exclusive economic zones as a pretext to advance its 'One China Principle' through expanded coast guard actions and gray-zone harassment against Taiwan, which undermines regional security.

Shen attended the 'US-China Competition and Taiwan Strait Security in the Xi Jinping Era' seminar at National Chung Hsing University today. According to a press release from the MAC on June 6, Shen stated at the meeting that mainland China is exploiting the 'One China Principle' to conduct gray-zone harassment against Taiwan.

Shen said that mainland China has recently been using the start of exclusive economic zone delimitation talks between Japan and the Philippines to expand the scope of its coast guard operations and continue military aircraft and vessel harassment of Taiwan. He stated this is an attempt to advance the 'One China Principle' and eliminate the sovereignty of the Republic of China through gray-zone incursions, which seriously undermines regional security and further proves that the CCP is the real troublemaker.

'The CCP is targeting Taiwan, forcing it to accept its One China narrative and the 1992 Consensus; the people of Taiwan must unite,' Shen emphasized. He stressed that peace in the Taiwan Strait cannot be exchanged for compromising on the 'One China narrative,' as this would be accepting the claim that the Taiwan Strait is an internal affair. The government insists on maintaining the peaceful and stable status quo in the Taiwan Strait and opposes any attempt to change the status quo by force.

The 37th anniversary of the June 4th Incident was on the 4th. Shen mentioned that historical events can serve as a reflection on the nature of authoritarian regimes. The CCP suppressed a young generation striving for freedom with military force back then,扼殺ing the imagination for a pluralistic democracy. Hong Kong's democracy and freedom have died under 'one country, two systems,' forcing its younger generation into exile overseas.

Shen said the CCP continues its verbal attacks and military intimidation against Taiwan, advocating for 'promoting unification and integration, opposing independence and intervention,' and infiltrating Taiwan through various means in an attempt to eliminate the Republic of China. 'Peace is not about lying flat,' he said. Taiwan must deter the CCP's authoritarian oppression through strength while strengthening international cooperation to ensure national sovereignty and protect its free and democratic way of life. (Editor: Chou Hui-ying) 1150606