Taipei protests China-Brunei statement on Taiwan

Taipei, Feb. 8 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has denounced a joint statement issued by China and Brunei that asserts Taiwan as part of Chinese territory.

In a press release issued on Saturday, MOFA said it "strongly condemns" the two governments' claims that "Taiwan is an inalienable part of China" and rejected any statements that undermine Taiwan's sovereign.

The Republic of China (Taiwan's official name) is a sovereign and independent country and it is not subordinate to the People's Republic of China (PRC), MOFA said in the release.

The PRC has never ruled Taiwan, MOFA said, adding that Taiwan would not cave into Beijing's "diplomatic pressure."

MOFA's comments came two days after Brunei's head of state Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah visited Beijing on Thursday and met with China's leader Xi Jinping.

The two sides issued a joint statement after the meeting on deepening their strategic partnerships, in which Brunei reiterated its adherence to the "one China" policy.

According to the statement, Brunei endorses China's territorial claims over Taiwan, and supports the peaceful development of cross-Taiwan Strait relations and China's unification goals.