China has lodged serious representations to Indonesia on Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian's stopover in the islands nation, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said on Friday.

 

Chen made a one-night stopover on the island of Batam in Indonesia on his way back from a trip to Latin America.

 

Liu said, "We demand Indonesia take practical action to fulfill its commitment to the one-China policy in order to maintain the overall Sino-Indonesian relations."

 

The Indonesian government voiced its serious regret over the activities carried out by Chen Shui-bian. Indonesian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Yuri Thamrin explained, "We had expected Chen's plane to arrive on the island at 2 PM Thursday for refueling and to leave straight away. But he stayed on the island until 10 AM on Friday and conducted some other activities."

 

"We still adhere to our one-China policy, and we hope our relationship with China will remain strong," he said.

 

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono asked the governor of Kepulauan Riau province to submit a report about Chen's activities on the island and warned him to pay serious attention to the matter, according to Indonesian Chief Security Minister Widodo Adi Sucipto.

 

(Xinhua News Agency May 13, 2006)