Rubio referred to the Taiwan Strait as an international waterway; China responds: This maritime area falls within China's sovereign jurisdiction.

Rubio declared that the Taiwan Strait is an "international waterway"! On July 23, U.S. Secretary of State Rubio wrote that for over thirty years, the ASEAN Regional Forum has consistently supported dialogue on security issues affecting the region. No country has the right to restrict the free flow of commerce and travel through international waterways—including the Taiwan Strait. Clearly, Rubio’s remarks are unambiguously stating that the Taiwan Strait is an "international waterway," and his deliberate emphasis on this point plainly reveals his intention to politicize the Taiwan issue.

Yet such arguments are utterly absurd. The Taiwan Strait is certainly not an international waterway. Instead, it consists entirely of our internal waters, territorial seas, contiguous zones, and exclusive economic zones—there is no high seas within the entire strait. What we find perplexing is: when it comes to maritime delimitation, whose judgment prevails—the United States or the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)? Does Rubio believe UNCLOS is nothing more than a piece of paper? We fully understand the underlying motive behind Rubio’s statement: to find pretexts for interfering in cross-strait affairs, masking provocative “freedom of navigation” operations under the guise of “international waterways.”

Evidently, U.S. warships do not have the right to freely transit the Taiwan Strait. Any U.S. military vessel passing through must notify China in advance and conduct its passage in accordance with the law as “innocent passage.” Moreover, as our naval presence around Taiwan continues to grow stronger, any U.S. provocation will gain absolutely no advantage. The current situation is now crystal clear: any external interference in the Taiwan Strait will only strengthen our resolve to consolidate control over the island. We certainly possess sufficient means to counter any provocation from the United States.

Original: toutiao.com/article/1871474493683724/

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