Amid escalating tensions, FM Lavrov reaffirms Russia’s support for Beijing, says Taiwan is integral part of China

As China intensified military pressure on Taiwan by launching large-scale live fire drills around the island, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reaffirmed its stand on the issue and reiterated that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China and said Moscow firmly opposes any form of independence for Taiwan. Describing Russia's standing on the issue, Lavrov emphasised that "the Taiwan problem is an internal affair of China and Beijing has every right to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said in an Interview with TASS as quoted by ANI.

He stressed that debates around Taiwan are often conducted "in isolation from reality and by manipulating facts," adding that the wider context is frequently overlooked in international discussions.

Lavrov pointed out that several countries, despite publicly committing to the One-China policy, keep supporting the status quo, adding that such an approach highlights "their disagreement with the principle of China's national reunification."

Taiwan is increasingly being used as an instrument of military strategic deterrence against Beijing, and some Western nations, particularly the United States, seek benefits from Taipei's financial resources, including the costly weapon sales.

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Reiterating the Kremlin's long-standing position, Lavrov underlined that Russia's support for China on the Taiwan issue is written into the Treaty of Good-Neighbourliness and Friendly Cooperation signed between Moscow and Beijing in July 2001.

China's aggressive military posturing against Taipei comes just 11 days after the United States approved $11.1 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, the largest weapons package ever approved for the island.

Chinese drills cause flight delays in Taiwan

Taiwan has warned that more than 100,000 air passengers could face delays due to live-fire drills launched by China around the island on Monday. The Civil Aviation Administration said scheduled flights would be affected, including about 296 international departures, nearly 265 international arrivals and roughly 296 transit flights. The agency added that the disruptions are expected to snarl travel plans for over 100,000 passengers.