TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday rebuked a joint statement issued by China and Malaysia that referred to Taiwan as part of China. 

During a three-day visit to Malaysia, Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平) issued a joint statement with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim claiming, “Taiwan is an inalienable territory of the People’s Republic of China.” In response, MOFA described the statement as “spurious content" that made false claims. 

The ministry said it “strongly condemns China for continuing to pressure other countries to issue false narratives aimed at undermining Taiwan’s sovereignty.” It expressed regret over the statement and related developments.

MOFA stressed that Taiwan is a sovereign and independent country and is not subordinate to China. The ministry said Taiwan is firmly dedicated to protecting its national security and “will not concede to Chinese coercion.”

The ministry said that no claims by Beijing can alter “the reality that Taiwan is a sovereign nation.” MOFA called on the international community to “jointly counter China’s false narratives and not to condone China’s malicious attempts to mislead the international community.”