U.S. needs to handle Taiwan question prudently: FM spokesperson

BEIJING, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. needs to abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiqués, handle the Taiwan question prudently, and take concrete actions to uphold the overall China-U.S. relations and peace and stability in the region, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday.

Spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular press briefing after the U.S. State Department last week said China's maritime activities off Taiwan's east coast are "deeply destabilizing."

"China has on multiple occasions made clear its position on this," said Mao, adding that China has exclusive economic zone and continental shelf in waters east of the Taiwan island. It is fully within China's sovereign rights and jurisdiction, therefore legitimate, lawful and beyond reproach, for China to carry out activities in these waters.

"The party that instigates troubles and disrupts stability in this part of waters has never been the Chinese side," Mao emphasized, saying that the Taiwan question is China's internal affair that brooks no external interference.