Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said on Wednesday that the island “would not back down” in the face of the threat from China, which is preparing to launch military maneuvers dangerously close to the Taiwanese coast in retaliation for the visit of Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.
During a meeting with Ms. Tsai in Taipei, Ms. Pelosi, the highest American official to visit Taiwan in 25 years, said she had come to the region “in peace” while assuring that the United States would not abandon the democratic island, which lives under the constant threat of an invasion by Beijing.
Arriving Tuesday evening aboard an American military plane, Ms. Pelosi left the island Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. (6:00 a.m. in Quebec) bound for South Korea, the next stop on her Asian tour. His brief stay has sparked the ire of Beijing, which considers Taiwan part of its territory and vehemently opposes any form of international recognition of the island.
“This is a real joke. The US is violating China’s sovereignty under the guise of so-called “democracy”. […] Those who offend China will be punished,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi threatened on Wednesday.
China’s Defense Ministry has pledged “targeted military actions”, with a series of military maneuvers around the island to begin on Thursday, including “long-range live ammunition firing” in the Taiwan Strait, which separates the island in mainland China.
These exercises “constitute a necessary and legitimate measure in order to respond to the serious provocations of certain American politicians and Taiwanese separatists”, Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told the press.
“Faced with deliberately increased military threats, Taiwan will not back down,” responded the Taiwanese president.
” We’re going […] continue to defend democracy,” she said during her meeting with Ms. Pelosi, whom she thanked for having “taken concrete steps to show [son] unwavering support for Taiwan at this critical time.”
Military maneuvers close, very close
According to the coordinates published by the Chinese army, part of the military operations must take place 20 kilometers from the coast of Taiwan.
“Some of China’s maneuver areas encroach on […] Taiwan’s territorial waters,” Taiwan Defense Ministry spokesman Sun Li-fang said. “This is an irrational act aimed at challenging the international order,” he said.
The Mainland Affairs Council, the body that sets Taiwan government policy toward Beijing, has accused the Chinese regime of practicing “vicious bullying” that will “seriously impact the peace and prosperity of the all of East Asia”.
Japan meanwhile said it was “concerned” about the Chinese drills, saying some would encroach on its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Taiwan authorities reported overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday that 21 Chinese military planes entered the island’s air defense identification zone — an area much larger than its airspace.
Beijing’s Commerce Ministry also announced economic sanctions, including a suspension of exports to Taiwan of natural sand — a key component in the manufacture of semiconductors, one of the island’s top exports. And the Chinese customs administration has suspended the import of citrus fruits and certain fish from Taiwan.
The Taiwanese Ministry of Defense assured that the army would “protect national security”.
Several American ships also cruise in the region, including the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, according to American military sources.
An unlikely armed conflict
Most observers rate the likelihood of armed conflict as low. But US officials said they were preparing for shows of force from the Chinese military.
Although US officials regularly visit the island, China considers the visit of Ms. Pelosi, the third person in the US state, to be a major provocation.
Last week, in a telephone interview with his counterpart Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping had already called on the United States not to “play with fire”.
Since 1979, Washington has recognized only one Chinese government, that of Beijing, while continuing to provide support to the Taiwanese authorities, in particular via major arms sales.
The United States also practices “strategic ambiguity,” refraining from saying whether or not it would militarily defend Taiwan in the event of an invasion.