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Tanzanian President Reiterates Support for One China Policy
Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa on Saturday reiterated Tanzania's position over the Taiwan issue, saying it will firmly support the Chinese government's one China policy.
Speaking to Rear Admiral Huang Jiang, Commander of the visiting Chinese naval ships, Mkapa said his government supported all the measures taken by the Chinese government and its armed forces to deter the authorities of Taiwan from seeking independence.
"We have followed closely the development on Taiwan and let me take this opportunity again to tell you that we are very disturbed by the utterance during the elections in Taiwan, and to reaffirm to you that an important pillar of our relations is our total support for one China," the president told Huang and Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania Wang Yongqiu who paid him a courtesy visit.
Mkapa extended his warm welcome to the Chinese fleet, which made Dar es Salaam its first stop of a historic visit to Africa, saying "it is a reflection of the true friendship between the people of our two countries and of the great cooperation that exists between the governments of our two countries".
He expressed satisfaction with the bilateral cooperation, especially in the military sector.
On Friday, Huang also met General Robert Mboma, Commander in Chief of Tanzanian People's Defense Forces.
The Chinese warship group, which arrived at the Dar es Salaam harbor on Friday morning for a two-day maiden goodwill visit to Tanzania, consists of the Shenzhen DDG167, China's newest guided-missile destroyer, and Nancang AOG953, China's largest assorted supply ship.
They were greeted by Tanzanian Navy Commander RADM Ligate Sande and other senior officers along with hundreds of overseas Chinese.
Leaving its base in Zhanjiang in southern China on July 5, the Chinese warships first paid a four-day visit to Malaysia from July 11 to 14.
They will leave Tanzania on Sunday for Simonstown, South Africa, the last leg of the three-nation tour.
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