儘管伊朗憤怒，中國仍堅持對有爭議的海灣島嶼的立場

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

China maintains stance on disputed Gulf islands despite Iran's anger

Reuters

Mon, June 3, 2024 at 5:23 a.m. EDT·2 min read

BEIJING (Reuters) - China held its stance on three disputed islands in the Persian Gulf on Monday despite Tehran's anger at Beijing for describing the Iran-controlled islands as a matter to be resolved with the United Arab Emirates.

In a statement last week, China expressed support for the efforts of the UAE to reach a "peaceful solution" to the issue of the islands - the Greater Tunb, the Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa.

The islands, claimed by the UAE and Iran, have been held by Tehran since 1971.

In a rare show of anger toward its biggest trading partner, the Iranian foreign ministry on Sunday summoned the Chinese ambassador to Iran to protest China's "repeated support" for the UAE's "baseless claims".

"Considering the strategic cooperation between Tehran and Beijing, it is expected that the Chinese government will revise its stance on this matter," the Iranian foreign ministry said.

China's foreign ministry on Monday repeated its call for Iran and the UAE to resolve their differences through dialogue and consultation, describing China's stance on the matter as "consistent".

"The relevant contents of the China-UAE Joint Statement are consistent with China's position," said Mao Ning at a regular press briefing when asked about Iran's protest, offering no revision of Beijing's stance.

She added that China and Iran had a strong relationship, and that China attached great importance to the development of their strategic partnership.

China angered Iran in December 2022 when it issued a joint statement with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries that called for efforts to resolve the issue of the three islands.

That statement went on to stress the need to "ensure the peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear programme", which was not mentioned in the latest statement with the UAE.

(Reporting by Liz Lee and Ryan Woo; Editing by Ros Russell)

Translation

北京（路透社） - 儘管德黑蘭對北京將伊朗控制的島嶼描述為需要與阿拉伯聯合酋長國解決的問題感到憤怒，但中國週一在波斯灣三個有爭議的島嶼上堅持立場。

中國在上週的聲明中表示支持阿聯酋為「和平解決」大通布、小通布和阿布穆薩群島問題所做的努力。

阿聯酋和伊朗聲稱對這些島嶼擁有主權，自 1971 年以來一直由德黑蘭控制。

伊朗外交部周日召見中國駐伊朗大使，抗議中國 “一再支持” 阿聯酋 “毫無根據的主張”，這是對其最大貿易夥伴罕見的憤怒表現。

伊朗外交部表示： “預計中國政府考慮到德黑蘭與北京之間的戰略合作，它將改變在此事上的立場。”

中國外交部週一再次呼籲伊朗和阿聯酋透過對話協商解決分歧，並稱中國在此事上的立場是「一致的」。

當被問及伊朗的抗議時，毛寧在例行記者會上表示， “中阿聯合聲明的相關內容與中方立場是一致的” ，北京的立場沒有任何改變。

她表示，中伊關係密切，中方高度重視發展中伊戰略夥伴關係。

2022年12月，中國與海灣合作委員會（GCC）國家發表聯合聲明，呼籲努力解決三島問題，此舉激怒了伊朗。

該聲明接著強調需要 “確保伊朗核計劃的和平性質” ，而與阿聯酋的最新聲明中沒有提及這一點。

So, China held its stance on three disputed islands in the Persian Gulf despite Tehran's anger at Beijing for describing the Iran-controlled islands as a matter to be resolved with the United Arab Emirates. On the face of it for China, the relationship with the United Arab Emirates is more important.