The Daily Telegraph

Warship near disputed islands puts post-brexit deal at risk, says China

- By Our Foreign Staff

CHINA yesterday warned Britain that it had jeopardise­d post-brexit relations by sailing a warship close to islands in the South China Sea which are claimed by Beijing.

Britain has been working to boost trade with the world’s second-largest economy as Brexit looms, talking up a “golden era” in ties and the two nations agreed last month to look at the possibilit­y of a post-brexit free-trade deal that, if struck, would be a key achievemen­t for Theresa May, the Prime Minister.

However, after last week’s incident Hua Chunying, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, yesterday told the daily press briefing: “What the British side did is wrong...it will have a negative impact on the developmen­t of China-uk relations.”

Chinese state media specifical­ly cautioned that a post-brexit trade deal was at stake. “China and the UK had agreed to actively explore the possibilit­y of discussing a free-trade agreement after Brexit, but any act that harms China’s core interests will only put a spanner in the works,” said an English language editorial in China Daily, the state-run newspaper.

Britain’s decision to send a warship into contested waters was a move to “curry favour with the United States,” said the editorial.

“But by trying to revive the ‘special relationsh­ip’ in this way, now it is no longer the gateway to continenta­l Europe, the UK risks losing more than it can gain,” it warned.

HMS Albion, a 22,000 ton amphibious warship carrying a contingent of Royal Marines passed by the Paracel Islands on Aug 31, where it was confronted by the Chinese military. It was on its way to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where it docked on Monday after a deployment in and around Japan.

The Paracels have long been disputed and were the site of a major naval battle in the Seventies between China and Vietnam, after which Beijing claimed sovereignt­y. The group of more than 30 islands in the South China Sea are now occupied entirely by China.

Beijing has laid claim to other groups of disputed islands in the South China Sea, where roughly $3 trillion (£2.3 trillion) in trade passes through each year.

Mr Hua said the move “obviously runs counter to the consensus and spirit put forth by the leaders of our two countries that we are willing to join hands to build a ‘golden era’ of China-uk ties.”

Adding to the tension, China’s foreign ministry also said it was “ridiculous for the UK to pose as a ‘supervisor’”, and that Britain should stop interferin­g in Hong Kong, a former British colony.

The comments came after the UK issued its latest bi-annual report on the special administra­tive region.

In it, Jeremy Hunt, the Foreign Secretary, noted the “growing concern about the extent of freedom of speech in Hong Kong, particular­ly in the context of discussion of independen­ce”, while also stating that Britain does not think independen­ce is realistic or desirable.

China said the issue of independen­ce had nothing to do with freedom of speech and was a violation of China’s constituti­on and Hong Kong law.

“It fundamenta­lly is not within the scope of freedom of expression,” the ministry said. “The central government has zero tolerance for ‘Hong Kong independen­ce’ and will never indulge it.”

 ??  ?? HMS Albion passed the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, where it was confronted
HMS Albion passed the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, where it was confronted

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