Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - Thursday, members of the European Parliament voted for a resolution that said China's military exerci...
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| Image: Reuters |
In a statement, the EU assembly said that 424 lawmakers voted for the resolution, with 14 voting against and 46 not voting. The resolution also asked Beijing to stop doing things that could upset the stability of the Taiwan Strait and the region as a whole.
Last month, China sent a lot of planes and missiles near Taiwan after U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the self-ruled island to show support.
Taiwan's Foreign Ministry was happy about the resolution and thanked those who backed it, saying that it showed that people at high levels and from different parties cared about peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
China sees Taiwan as one of its provinces and has said for a long time that it has the right to take the island by force if it wants to. China says that its disagreements with Taipei are a matter between the two countries.
Taiwan's democratically elected government strongly disagrees with China's claims of sovereignty, saying that only the 23 million people who live on the island can decide its future.
In a resolution, the European Parliament asked the EU to improve its relationship with Taiwan because of its important trade position and leading role in the global supply chain of key high-tech sectors, such as semiconductors.
It liked that Lithuania planned to open a trade office in Taipei and said that other EU countries that don't have one there should do the same.
With Lithuania joining the group, 16 EU countries now have offices in Taiwan.
In Taipei, the EU is also represented by the European Economic and Trade Office, which acts as a de facto embassy since there are no formal diplomatic ties between the two countries.
