France on Wednesday batted away criticism by China over a weapons deal with Taiwan, saying everyone's focus at this time should be on fighting the coronavirus epidemic.

The foreign ministry stressed that under a 1994 agreement that re-established ties with Beijing, France respected the so-called one-China policy recognising Taiwan as part of China.

"In this context, France strictly respects the contractual agreements that it formed with Taiwan and nothing has changed in its position since 1994," a ministry statement said.

"Faced with the COVID-19 crisis, all our attention and all our efforts should be focused on the fight against the pandemic," it added.

China called on France on Tuesday to cancel a weapons contract with Taiwan, warning the deal with the self-ruled island could harm diplomatic relations between Paris and Beijing.

Taiwan's navy said last month it would upgrade the 25-year-old missile interference system of French-built Lafayette frigates, whose sale three decades ago had raised diplomatic tensions.

Taiwanese media said the deal was worth over Tw$800 million ($26.8 million) to buy the Dagaie MK2 decoy launcher from a unit of French group DCI.

A source close to the matter told AFP the Taiwanese defence ministry has a contract to modernise its six French-made frigates.

"China has expressed deep concern to France," the foreign ministry in Beijing told AFP.

"We oppose all weapons sales or military and security exchanges with the Taiwan region," it said.

"We urge France to cancel this planned weapons sale to Taiwan in order to avoid harming Sino-French relations."

France sold the six frigates to Taiwan for $2.8 billion in 1991 causing a freeze in diplomatic relations that officially ended in 1994.

Beijing still claims the self-governing island as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary, even though the two sides have been ruled separately for more than seven decades.

Related Links
Taiwan News at SinoDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

US demands WHO invite Taiwan to meeting
Washington (AFP) May 6, 2020
The United States on Wednesday urged the World Health Organization to defy Chinese pressure and invite Taiwan to its annual meeting, which will discuss the coronavirus pandemic. The United States itself has yet to confirm its participation in the May 18-19 talks of the World Health Assembly, which comes after President Donald Trump vowed to slash funding for the UN body. "I want to call on all nations, including those in Europe, to support Taiwan's participation as an observer at the World Healt ... read more