China complains to Singapore over ‘armoured vehicles’

Beijing / AFP

China has lodged a diplomatic protest with Singapore after a shipment of Singaporean military armoured vehicles being brought back from Taiwan was seized in Hong Kong, Beijing’s foreign ministry said on Monday.
Beijing stated its opposition to “any form of official exchanges with Taiwan, including military exchanges and cooperation”, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters, urging Singapore to “stick to the ‘One China’ principle”.
Taiwan is a self-ruling democracy but Beijing still sees it as part of its territory. Relations have grown increasingly tense since the island’s new China-sceptic president Tsai Ing-wen took power in May.
The shipment of Terrex Infantry Carrier Vehicles and other Singaporean military equipment has been held in Hong Kong since last Wednesday due to a “request for routine inspections” by customs, Singapore’s defence ministry said.
It added that the vehicles were used in overseas training exercises by the country’s military. No ammunition was on board.
Media reports in Hong Kong and Taiwan said the vehicles were on their way back from a training exercise in Taiwan.
Singapore and Taiwan have a longstanding defence agreement signed in 1974, “Project Starlight”, enabling Singaporean troops to train in Taiwan alongside Taipei’s forces. The city-state sends up to 15,000 troops a year to the island.