China's Permanent Mission to the United Nations on Tuesday firmly refuted a Taiwan-related joint statement made by the permanent representatives to the UN of Belize and other countries. 

The permanent representatives to the UN of Belize, the Kingdom of Eswatini, Guatemala, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and a few other countries on Tuesday released a joint statement on the Taiwan question and the current situation in the Taiwan Straits, making groundless accusations against China's legitimate measures in safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity. 

"This is a serious interference in China's internal affairs. We firmly oppose and strongly condemn this joint statement," China's Permanent Mission to the UN said in a statement released on Tuesday. 

There is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, and the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. This has been clearly reaffirmed by UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 of 1971. 

"The one-China principle represents the universal consensus of the international community. It is consistent with the basic norms of international relations," the statement said.

By maintaining "diplomatic relations" with Taiwan, countries issuing this joint statement have been seriously violating China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and interfering in China's internal affairs. "Already standing against the vast majority of countries around the world, now they have taken another wrong step by issuing such a fact-distorting statement," the statement said.

So far, 181 countries have established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. Taiwan's "diplomatic relationship" with 14 countries goes against the UN General Assembly Resolution 2758.

In the joint statement, these countries claimed that the military exercises by the Chinese People's Liberation Army surrounding the island of Taiwan "put regional security at risk". The measures China has taken, including military drills in waters and airspace off China's Taiwan, are a necessary response to the visit by the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, and other provocations by external forces, the statement said.

"All these measures taken by China are justified, necessary and proportionate, and are in line with domestic and international laws as well as established international practices." 

The causes of the recent tensions in the Taiwan Straits are clear, and so are the merits of the matter. China is not the one that stirred up the trouble or created the crisis, the statement said.

"These countries turned a blind eye to the fact that external forces have recently undermined China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Instead, they unreasonably accused China of its legitimate measures. This only shows that they have lost the basic sense of right and wrong, as well as their impartiality and independence," the statement said. 

In the joint statement, these countries claimed that they wish the "status quo" can be maintained. In regard to this, the statement said Taiwan has never been a country, there is only one China in the world, and both sides of the Taiwan Straits belong to one and the same China. This has been the status quo of the Taiwan question since ancient times.

"It must be pointed out that external forces like the US have been abetting and instigating the 'Taiwan independence' forces to redouble their separatist efforts and repeatedly alter the status quo across the Straits. This is the fundamental reason behind the tensions in the Taiwan Straits and the grave challenges we now face," the statement said.

The joint statement also mentioned the so-called "median line". "They should know that Taiwan is part of China's territory, and there is no such 'median line' in the Taiwan Straits to begin with," the statement said. 

Countries like Belize have long suffered from colonialism and foreign intervention in their history. "They should know well how important it is to uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and respect state sovereignty and territorial integrity. Yet now they are trying to confound black with white with no regard for facts. They are obviously standing on the wrong side against fairness and justice," said the statement.

"It is the firm commitment of the more than 1.4 billion Chinese people to resolutely safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity. It is the shared aspiration and sacred responsibility of all Chinese to realize the complete reunification of the motherland. 

"No country, no force and no individual should ever misestimate the firm resolve, strong will and great capability of the Chinese government and people to defend sovereignty and territorial integrity. We are fully confident and determined to achieve the complete reunification of the country and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," the statement said.