Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of military (a) operations and (b) drills conducted by China near Taiwan.

The UK has a clear interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. We consider the Taiwan issue one to be settled peacefully by people on both sides of the Strait without threat or use of force or coercion. The UK opposes any activity that risks destabilising the status quo, including escalatory activities by China.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office issued a statement in response to China's latest military drills on 2 April, and we subsequently joined G7 partners to reemphasise the importance of peace and stability in the Strait in a joint statement on 6 April.