A strong warning: China said Wednesday that the United States will have to “assume all the consequences” of a potential visit by the leader of the American congressmen, Nancy Pelosi, to Taiwan, amid high Sino-American tensions.
These remarks come before a possible phone call, in the coming days, between the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, and his American counterpart, Joe Biden.
The subjects of friction between Beijing and Washington have multiplied over the years: South China Sea, treatment of Uighur Muslims, growing influence of China in Asia-Pacific, war in Ukraine, or even Taiwan.
China considers the island, with a population of 24 million, to be one of its historic provinces that it has yet to reunite with the rest of the country.
Opposed to any initiative that would give the Taiwanese authorities international legitimacy, Beijing is against any official contact between Taiwan and other states.
The Chinese government has also increased military and diplomatic pressure against the island since the election in 2016 of a Taiwanese president, Tsai Ing-wen, from an independence party.
At the same time, tensions between China and the United States have increased in recent years, with several sales of American arms to Taiwan and the visit to the island of American politicians who have come to offer their support to the local authorities.
Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and as such one of the most senior figures in the American state, is still planning to visit Taiwan next month, according to press reports.
” Red line “
Member of the Democratic Party, like Joe Biden, Mme Pelosi didn’t say if she would make the trip well, but she said she thinks it’s “important […] to show support for Taiwan.
China had warned the Americans on Monday that it was “standing ready” to respond to such a visit. Beijing reiterated Wednesday during a regular press briefing its “firm opposition”.
“If the United States insists on defying China’s red line” with this visit to Taiwan, it “will face strong measures in response and must bear all the consequences”, said a spokesperson. of Chinese diplomacy, Zhao Lijian.
He was responding to a question about press reports that the US military would increase its activity in Asia-Pacific in the event of a visit by Nancy Pelosi.
Taiwan (officially the “Republic of China”) has its own government, currency and military. But economic and interpersonal relations with mainland China remain strong, and the island has never officially declared its independence.
The communist government based in Beijing (the “People’s Republic of China”) threatens to use force if this is the case.
Simple possibility for the moment, the displacement of Mme Pelosi is being debated within the US government itself. Unusually, Joe Biden himself noted last week that the US military felt that this visit was “not a good idea”.
Pressure
Asked Wednesday about the possible arrival of Mme Pelosi, the Taiwanese Prime Minister, Su Tseng-chang, confined himself to saying that he was open to any visit from “friendly foreign guests”.
“We are very grateful to Speaker Pelosi for her support and friendship with Taiwan over the years. »
Taiwan enjoys broad support in the US Congress, and Beijing’s warnings have only sparked calls for Mr.me Pelosi maintains his trip.
The United States, like the vast majority of countries in the world, does not recognize Taiwan as a country. But Washington strongly supports the island, highlighting its “democratic” status, and remains Taipei’s most important partner and arms supplier.
Seeing this US activism as an attack on its sovereignty, China has increased pressure against Taipei in recent years. In order to assert its claims of sovereignty over the island, it has thus on numerous occasions sent military aircraft into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (“ADIZ”) – far from the Taiwanese coast, however.
CIA boss Bill Burns recently said the question was no longer whether China would invade the island, but “when and how”.