China has made an official protest to Singapore over its military ties with Taiwan after nine Singaporean military vehicles were seized in Hong Kong, in a sign of escalating tensions as the city state draws closer to Washington.
The Terrex armoured personnel carriers were en route from Taiwan to Singapore when they were impounded by Hong Kong customs as “suspected controlled items” last week.
“China has already made representations over this to the Singapore side,” Geng Shuang, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, said yesterday. China also “demanded” that Singapore abide by Hong Kong’s relevant laws and co-operate with the local government on follow-up work, he added.