(Taipei) Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday, on her second day in Taiwan, that she had come “in peace to the region”, while her visit sparked the anger of Beijing which has announced a series of military exercises in the vicinity of the island.
Posted at 10:09 p.m.
Updated at 10:36 p.m.
“We come as friends to Taiwan, we come in peace to the region,” Ms.me Pelosi, the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Taiwan in 25 years, during a meeting with Deputy Speaker of Taiwan’s Parliament Tsai Chi-chang.
Mme Pelosi, 82, arrived in Taipei on Tuesday evening on a US military plane. His visit, which had not been officially announced, but which had been the subject of intense speculation for several days, immediately caused Beijing to react.
Upon the arrival of M.me Pelosi in Taiwan, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced “a serious violation” of American commitments vis-à-vis China, which “seriously undermines regional peace and stability”.
And the Chinese government summoned US Ambassador to Beijing Nicholas Burns on Tuesday evening. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng expressed his country’s “firm protests” to him, adding that “the initiative (of Mme Pelosi to travel to Taiwan) is extremely shocking and the consequences will be very serious,” Xinhua reported.
China’s Defense Ministry has meanwhile promised “targeted military actions”, with a series of military maneuvers around the island to begin on Wednesday, including “firing long-range live ammunition” in the Taiwan Strait, which separates the island from mainland China.
Aerial incursions
Taiwan authorities reported overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday that 21 Chinese military aircraft had entered the island’s air defense identification zone – an area much larger than its airspace.
The Taiwanese Ministry of Defense said it was “determined” to protect the island against any attack.
Several American ships also cruise in the region, including the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, according to American military sources.
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.
China considers that Taiwan, with its 23 million inhabitants, is one of its provinces, which it has not yet succeeded in attaching to the rest of its territory since the end of the Chinese civil war (1949).
” Play with fire ”
Opposed to any initiative giving the Taiwanese authorities international legitimacy, Beijing is against any official contact between Taiwan and other countries.
US officials visit the island regularly. But China judges that a visit by Mme Pelosi, the third figure of the American state, is a major provocation.
Last week, in a telephone interview with his American counterpart Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping had already called on the United States not to “play with fire”.
The previous Speaker of the United States House of Representatives to visit Taiwan was Newt Gingrich in 1997.
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”: it refrains from saying whether or not it would defend Taiwan militarily in the event of an invasion.
Russia, a major ally of China, on Tuesday accused the Americans of “destabilizing the world” and described Nancy Pelosi’s visit as “pure provocation”.
“The Chinese side has the right to take necessary measures to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity regarding the Taiwan issue,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Another Beijing ally, North Korea, has expressed its “full support”.
“The brazen interference of the United States in the internal affairs of other countries and its deliberate political and military provocations are undoubtedly the root cause of the deterioration of peace and security in the region,” said a spokesperson for the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs quoted by the official KCNA agency.