- Pelosi: The world faces a choice between autocracy and democracy
- Chinese warplanes sound the Taiwan Strait dividing line
- Outraged China plans ‘targeted military operations’
TAIPEI, Aug 2 (Reuters) – U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday afternoon in a trip she said shows the United States’ unwavering commitment to the self-governing island claimed by China, but China condemned the highest-level American visit. in 25 years as a threat to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Pelosi and the rest of her delegation disembarked from a US Air Force transport plane at Songshan Airport in central Taipei after landing overnight on a flight from Malaysia to begin a visit that risks pushing US-China relations to a new low. They were received by Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and Sandra Oudkirk, the top US representative in Taiwan.
His arrival prompted a furious response from China at a time when international tensions are already running high over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has never given up using force to bring it under its control. The United States warned China not to use the visit as a pretext for military action against Taiwan.
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“Our congressional delegation’s visit to Taiwan honors America’s unwavering commitment to support Taiwan’s vibrant democracy,” Pelosi said in a statement shortly after landing. “America’s solidarity with Taiwan’s 23 million people is more important today than ever as the world faces a choice between autocracy and democracy.” Read more
Pelosi, second in line to the US presidency, is a long-time critic of China.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen will meet with Pelosi on Wednesday morning and they will have lunch together afterward, the presidential office said. Pelosi, traveling with six other US lawmakers, became the most senior US political leader to visit Taiwan since 1997. read more
China’s foreign ministry said it lodged a strong protest with the United States, saying Pelosi’s visit seriously harms peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, “has a serious impact on the base policy of China-US relations and seriously infringes on China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Chinese warplanes buzzed the line dividing the Taiwan Strait before their arrival. The Chinese military has been put on high alert and will launch “targeted military operations” in response to Pelosi’s visit, the defense ministry said.
China’s military announced joint air and sea drills near Taiwan starting Tuesday night and test launches of conventional missiles into the sea east of Taiwan, with China’s state news agency Xinhua describing drills of live fire and other exercises around Taiwan from Thursday to Sunday. Read more
Pelosi is on an Asia tour that includes announced visits to Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan. His visit to Taiwan was unannounced but widely expected.
In a Washington Post op-ed published after the landing, Pelosi recounted her visit, praising Taiwan’s commitment to a democratic government while criticizing that China has dramatically increased tensions with Taiwan in recent years.
“We cannot stand by while the CCP threatens Taiwan and democracy itself,” Pelosi said, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.
Pelosi also cited China’s “brutal crackdown” on political dissent in Hong Kong and its treatment of Muslim Uighurs and other minorities, which the United States has called genocide.
THE PELOSI MOTORCYCLE
As Pelosi’s motorcade approached her hotel, escorted by police cars with flashing red and blue lights, dozens of supporters cheered and ran toward the black vehicles with arms outstretched and phone cameras flashing. The caravan went straight to the hotel parking lot.
On Tuesday night, Taiwan’s tallest building, Taipei 101, was lit up with messages such as: “Welcome to Taiwan,” “Speaker Pelosi” and “Taiwan (heart) USA.”
Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu welcomes US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at Taipei Songshan Airport in Taipei, Taiwan on August 2, 2022. Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Handout via REUTERS
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White House national security spokesman John Kirby said after Pelosi’s arrival that the United States “will not be intimidated” by China’s threats or bellicose rhetoric. Kirby said the visit is not a violation of US sovereignty or the long-standing “one-China policy”.
“There is no reason for this visit to become a precipitating event for a crisis or conflict,” Kirby said.
Pelosi, 82, is a close ally of US President Joe Biden, both members of the Democratic Party, and has helped guide his legislative agenda in Congress.
Four sources said Pelosi was also scheduled to meet Wednesday with activists outspoken about China’s human rights record.
China sees US officials’ visits to Taiwan as sending an encouraging signal to the island’s pro-independence camp. Taiwan rejects China’s sovereignty claims, saying only the Taiwanese people can decide the island’s future.
The United States does not have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but is required by US law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.
Wall Street’s main indexes fell in choppy trading on rising tensions between the US and China. Read more
MILITARY FORCES
Several Chinese warplanes flew close to the median line dividing the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday morning before departing later in the day, a source told Reuters. Several Chinese warships also sailed near the unofficial dividing line since Monday and remained there, the source said.
The Chinese aircraft carried out tactical maneuvers of briefly “touching” the median line and circling to the other side of the strait while Taiwanese aircraft were on standby nearby, the source said. Normally, planes from neither side cross the median line.
Taiwan’s defense ministry said on Tuesday that 21 Chinese planes entered its air defense identification zone and that China was trying to threaten key ports and cities with drills around the island. Taiwan’s armed forces have “reinforced” their alert level, he added.
Taylor Fravel, an MIT expert on China’s military, said China’s planned exercises appear to be larger in scope than during a Taiwan Strait crisis in 1995 and 1996. .
“Taiwan will face military exercises and missile tests from its north, south, east and west. This is unprecedented,” Fravel said.
Four US warships, including the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, were stationed in waters east of Taiwan on what the US Navy called routine deployments.
Russia, locked in a confrontation with the West over its invasion of Ukraine, condemned Pelosi’s visit.
“The US is a state provocateur,” said Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for Russia’s foreign ministry. “Russia confirms ‘one China’ principle and opposes island independence in any form”.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned Biden in a phone call last Thursday that Washington should abide by the one-China principle. Biden told Xi that US policy on Taiwan has not changed and Washington firmly opposes unilateral efforts to alter the status quo or undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
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Reporting by Yimou Lee and Sarah Wu, and Fabian Hamacher in Taipei, Yew Lun Tian and Ryan Woo in Beijing, Brenda Goh in Shanghai and Patricia Zengerle in Washington; Written by Tony Munroe and Michael Martina; Editing by Will Dunham, Angus MacSwan and Mark Heinrich
Our standards: the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.