Robert Besser
16 Mar 2023, 23:04 GMT+10
LONDON, England: Reflecting its increased willingness to support Taiwan, Britain approved a sharp increase in exports of submarine parts and technology to Taiwan as it upgrades its naval forces.
The value of licenses granted by the British government to companies for the export of submarine-related components and technology to Taiwan totaled a record $201.29 million during the first nine months of 2022, according to UK government export licensing data.
Beijing considers Taiwan part of China, known as its One-China policy, and strongly objects to perceived foreign interference with the island, believing it to be support for Taiwan's desire to be recognized as its own country.
When presented with the figures by Reuters, China's foreign ministry said in a statement, "If this is true, it is a serious violation of the One-China principle, undermines China's sovereignty and security interests, and undermines peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait."
"China is highly concerned about this and firmly opposes it," said the written statement, which urged Britain to "refrain from providing military support to the Taiwan authorities."
Britain does not recognize Taiwan and has no formal diplomatic relations with the island, but it maintains economic and trade ties and there is a de facto British embassy in Taipei.
A British government spokesperson said in a statement that the UK has a long record of "granting licenses for exports of controlled goods to Taiwan, on a case-by-case basis, where those applications are consistent with the rules that regulate the exports of arms and dual-use products."
The data was compiled from the Export Control Organisation, which is responsible for export licensing and sits within the UK Department for International Trade.
Meanwhile, the British government has announced a boost to overall defense spending as it unveiled an update to its defense, security and foreign policy priorities, setting out how it plans to "tackle new threats" from China and Russia.
Get a daily dose of London Mercury news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to London Mercury.
More InformationThe Duke of Sussex and other individuals have accused the publisher of unlawful information gathering. ...
British Gas, Scottish Power and Ovo made up 70% of all forced installations last year, the government says. ...
The pipeline was shut down and specialist oil spill companies brought in after the 200-barrel leak. ...
A man staying in an asylum seeker hotel in Newquay regrets coming to Britain after experiencing hostility. ...
The UK's high levels of economic inactivity due to long-term ill-health have resulted in a loss of 131 million working ...
Few understand why the Boat Race still garners millions of viewers nationally and hundreds of million internationally. ...
NEW YORK, New York - Bank shares were being bought up on Monday as U.S. industrial stocks kicked the week ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: To address summer airport congestion and low air traffic controller staffing levels, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said ...
OTTAWA, Canada: After a meeting between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and US President Joe Biden, Ottawa has pledged to ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Deposits at small U.S. banks throughout the country dropped the most since 2007 after the ...
DETROIT, Michigan: In a briefing for investors and analysts this week, Ford Motor Co. reported that while its electric vehicle ...
BENTON, Arkansas: Reuters reported that due to a reduction or elimination in evening and weekend shifts, Walmart will lay off ...