Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry condemned the entry of a Chinese ship into Crimea

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine condemned the entry of a Chinese vessel into the port of Sevastopol in occupied Crimea.

This was stated by the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Heorhiy Tykhy in a comment to Radio Svoboda.

He noted that the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs “strongly condemns and regards as a gross violation of international law and the legislation of Ukraine” the entry of the Heng Yang 9 vessel of the Chinese company Guangxi Changhai into the annexed Crimea.

“The fact that the vessel, which belongs to the Chinese company Guangxi Changhai, deliberately concealed its movements, transmitting false data about the r oute, which confirms the conscious nature of the violation, is particularly indignant,” the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented.

Tykhy added that these actions are yet another evidence of a brazen disregard for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, as well as for the fundamental norms of international law.

The Embassy of Ukraine in the People’s Republic of China sent an official note to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ukraine also reported the incident to the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Kyiv demands that Beijing adhere to its stated policy of refraining Chinese companies from cooperating with the occupation authorities in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. The Foreign Ministry recalled that Ukraine reserves the right to “appropriately respond to all cases of violations of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, in particular by imposing sanctions against the individuals and legal entities involved.”