The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reiterated Vietnam’s consistent stance to uphold the ‘One China’ policy and develop no state-level relations with Taiwan after the new leader of the island took the oath of office on Monday. 

The ministry’s spokeswoman Pham Thu Hang made the reaffirmation on Monday afternoon in reply to reporters’ queries on Vietnam’s viewpoint on China’s ‘One China’ policy amid the context that Lai Ching-te, a member of Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), was sworn in as the island’s new leader earlier on the same day.

“On the basis of steadfastly implementing the ‘One China’ policy under which Taiwan is an integral part of China’s territory, Vietnam maintains and develops people-to-people and non-governmental relations with Taiwan in various fields including economics, trade, investment, science and technology, culture, and education, but does not develop any state-level ties with Taiwan,” Hang stressed.

Vietnam respects the principle of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs and believes that peace, stability, and cooperation in the Taiwan Strait is crucial for both the region and the global community, the spokesperson stated.

New leader Lai, 65, won Taiwan’s leadership election in January to succeed his predecessor Tsai Ing-wen, who is in the same party as Lai and had led the island for eight years.

Lai served as Tsai’s deputy for four years before winning the election. He was once a lawmaker and the mayor of Tainan City on the southwest coast of Taiwan. 

Relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have become tense since the DPP came to power. 

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office on Monday condemned the inauguration speech of Taiwan’s new leader.

On the same day, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also criticized Lai, accusing him of advocating the separation of Taiwan from the People’s Republic of China.

The ministry warned that Lai would bring ‘war and decline’ to the island.

Seeing Taiwan as an integral part of its territory, “China has consistently and firmly opposed any form of official contact between the Taiwan region and countries having diplomatic ties with China,” according to China’s People’s Daily.

In recent times, a number of countries have severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan and switched to setting up diplomatic ties with mainland China.

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