Missiles fired from Chinese coast amid Taiwan tensions
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told an Asian meeting of senior diplomats today that China’s reaction to US President Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan was “flagrantly provocative”, say a western official.
Meanwhile, Ms Pelosi, who arrived in Japan last night for the final leg of her Asia tour, said the trip to the region was “not about changing the status quo in Taiwan”.
His diplomatic support for Taipei infuriated China, leading it to conduct live-fire military drills in Taiwanese waters.
Five missiles landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), prompting a strong diplomatic protest from Tokyo.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said China’s military exercises pose a “serious problem” that threatens regional peace and security and that the missile launches must “stop immediately.”
China says it summoned European diplomats to the country to protest statements issued by the Group of Seven nations and the European Union criticizing threats from Chinese military exercises around Taiwan.
key points
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Analysis: Japanese support for military build-up likely to increase after China’s missiles
China’s missile launch into waters less than 100 miles (160 km) from Japan in a show of power after Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan is likely to bolster public support for a military build-up aimed at defending against the country’s big neighbor. Japan
“It clearly shows that if something happens to Taiwan, we will be affected,” said Taro Kono, a senior Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker and former foreign and defense minister.
“The tide has clearly turned in Japan,” he added when asked if the public would support higher military spending.
A US-made C-130 aircraft prepares to land on a runway at Hsinchu Air Force Base in Hsinchu on August 5, 2022
(AFP via Getty Images)
Defense is a divisive issue in Japan, which, as a legacy of World War II, has a pacifist constitution and an enduring public mistrust of the entanglement in US-led wars.
China’s unprecedented missile launches into Japan’s exclusive economic zone came as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government prepares to release a defense budget request for a significant increase in spending this month.
“The military balance has changed a lot in Taiwan,” said retired Admiral Katsutoshi Kawano, who served as chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces for five years until 2019.
“I hope the defense budget discussions will get serious.”
Namita Singh August 5, 2022 10:06 am
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China sanctions US House Speaker
China has announced unspecified sanctions on US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over her visit to Taiwan earlier this week.
A statement from the Chinese foreign ministry said today that Ms Pelosi ignored China’s concerns and determined opposition to her visit to the self-ruled island, which Beijing claims.
The Chinese statement called Ms Pelosi’s visit provocative and said it undermined China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. He said sanctions would be imposed on her and her immediate family, but did not say what they would be. These sanctions are generally symbolic in nature.
Namita Singh August 5, 2022 9:53 am
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USA, Russia China participate in talks with Southeast Asian nations
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken joined the foreign ministers of Russia and China in a meeting today with top diplomats in Southeast Asia at a time when world powers are torn by tensions
The East Asia Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings in the Cambodian capital was the first time the three men were scheduled to participate in the same forum.
It came a day after WNBA star Brittney Griner was convicted of drug possession and sentenced to nine years in prison by Russia in a politically charged case amid antagonism over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (left) and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (right) attend the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the Summit East Asia during the 55th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Phnom Penh on 5 August 2022
(POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, China has expressed outrage over US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit this week to Taiwan, a self-governing island that Beijing claims as its own, and has launched show-of-force military exercises in response. .
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi patted Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the shoulder as he entered the room and quickly waved to Lavrov, who was already seated, before taking his own seat. Lavrov responded with the gesture.
Mr. Blinken, who entered the room last, did not even look at Lavrov as he took his own seat a half-dozen chairs away, or at Wang, who was seated further down at the same table as Mr. Lavrov.
Before the Phnom Penh talks, the US State Department indicated that Mr. Blinken did not plan to meet individually with either man during the course of the meetings.
Namita Singh August 5, 2022 9:03 am
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Pelosi calls for better relationship with China to work on ‘long-term challenge’
As Nancy Pelosi wrapped up her trip to Asia, she called on the “two big countries” – the United States and China – to communicate on areas such as climate and other global issues.
“It’s not about our visit determining what the US-China relationship is. It’s a much bigger, longer-term challenge and, again, we have to recognize that we have to work together in certain areas.”
Namita Singh August 5, 2022 8:53 am
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China can’t stop US officials from visiting Taiwan, Pelosi says as Asia trip wraps up
China will not isolate Taiwan by barring US officials from traveling there, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in Tokyo today, wrapping up her Asia tour highlighted by a visit to Taipei that angered China.
The Chinese have tried to isolate Taiwan, Ms. Pelosi said, including, most recently, preventing the self-ruled island from joining the World Health Organization.
They may try to prevent Taiwan from visiting or participating elsewhere, but they will not isolate Taiwan by preventing us from traveling there.
Nancy Pelosi
Pelosi called the dispute “ridiculous” and said her trip to Taiwan was not intended to change the island’s status quo but to maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi attends a press conference at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on August 5, 2022, at the end of her Asian tour, which included a visit to Taiwan.
(AFP via Getty Images)
“Our friendship with Taiwan is strong. It is bipartisan in the House and Senate, overwhelming support for peace and the status quo in Taiwan,” he said.
Namita Singh August 5, 2022 8:44 am
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There is no justification for China’s “extremely disproportionate and escalating” response, Blinken says
The US secretary of state criticized China’s military exercises, saying there is no justification for Beijing’s “extremely disproportionate and escalating” response to Nancy Pelosi’s visit.
He said China’s military exercises targeting Taiwan, including missiles fired into Japan’s exclusive economic zone, represent a “significant escalation”.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken attends a press conference after attending the proceedings of the 55th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Phnom Penh on August 5, 2022
(AFP via Getty Images)
“China has chosen to overreact and use President Pelosi’s visit as a pretext to increase provocative military activity in and around the Taiwan Strait,” Blinken told a news conference in the capital of cambodia
He also said the United States stands in solidarity with Japan after the “dangerous actions China has taken.”
Namita Singh August 5, 2022 8:41 am
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Chinese military reportedly makes dozens of crossings of Taiwan’s median line
About 10 Chinese navy ships and 20 military aircraft briefly crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait on Friday morning, a Taiwanese source briefed on the matter told Reuters.
About 10 Chinese navy ships crossed the median line and remained in the area Friday morning, and about 20 Chinese military aircraft briefly crossed the median line, said the person, who declined to be identified due to sensitivity. of the matter
A Chinese military aircraft flies over Pingtan Island, one of mainland China’s closest points to Taiwan, in Fujian province on August 5, 2022
(AFP via Getty Images)
Earlier, Taiwan’s defense ministry said the island’s military has sent planes and ships and deployed land-based missile systems to control the situation there as China conducts large-scale military exercises in areas that surround Taiwan.
Namita Singh August 5, 2022 8:17 am
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US-Taiwan collusion will push Taipei ‘towards the abyss of disaster’, China says
Stating that China’s relationship with Taiwan is an internal matter, the Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman said that “US-Taiwan collusion and provocation will only push Taiwan into the abyss of disaster, leading to a catastrophe to Taiwan’s compatriots.”
China’s Vice Minister Deng Li said Beijing will “prevent the country from being divided with the utmost determination, using all means and at any cost.”
A Chinese military ship sails from Pingtan Island, one of mainland China’s closest points to Taiwan, in Fujian province on August 5, 2022
(AFP via Getty Images)
“Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan is blatant political manipulation and a flagrant and serious violation of China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Deng said. “In response to US-Taiwan collusion and provocation, China’s counterattack is natural.”
In response to the Chinese drills, President Tsai Ing-wen said Taiwan would not provoke conflict, but would firmly defend its sovereignty and national security.
Namita Singh August 5, 2022 8:15 am
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Taiwan slams China’s ‘evil neighbor’ after missiles fly over island
Taiwan today condemned its “evil neighbor” after China fired…