China on Tuesday warned that US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan disregarding its stern warnings will have a “severe impact” on bilateral ties, as the official media here said that the military will launch a series of “targeted” operations to counter her trip.
Pelosi landed in Taipei on Tuesday night, according to the television footage shown by US networks. She is the highest-ranking US official to visit Taiwan in 25 years.
After Pelosi arrived in Taiwan, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a strong statement, saying that her visit is a “serious violation of the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-US joint communiques”.
China claims Taiwan as part of the mainland and vows to integrate what it calls the rebel province even by force.
“It has a severe impact on the political foundation of China-US relations, and seriously infringes upon China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It gravely undermines peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and sends a seriously wrong signal to the separatist forces for ‘Taiwan independence’. China firmly opposes and sternly condemns this, and has made serious demarche and strong protest to the United States,” the statement said.
There is but one-China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, it said.
Dismissing US Secretary Antony Blinken’s assertion that US Congress functioned independently from the Government, the statement said the US “Congress, as a part of the US Government, is inherently obliged to strictly observe the one-China policy of the US Government and refrain from having any official exchanges with China’s Taiwan region”.
Citing the Ministry of National Defence spokesperson Sr. Col. Wu Qian, state-run Global Times reported that the Chinese military “will launch a series of targeted military operations to counter Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan island, and resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Joint military activities will be conducted around Taiwan island starting Tuesday night to deter US provocations on the Taiwan question and warn “Taiwan Independence separatists,” said Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesperson for China’s PLA Eastern Theatre Command, on Tuesday.
After arriving in Taipei, Pelosi said that the US delegation’s visit “honours America’s unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan’s vibrant democracy.” “Our visit is one of several Congressional delegations to Taiwan -– and it in no way contradicts longstanding United States policy,” she said.
“By travelling to Taiwan, we honour our commitment to democracy: reaffirming that the freedoms of Taiwan — and all democracies — must be respected.” She said that her “visit reiterates that America stands with Taiwan: a robust, vibrant democracy and our important partner in the Indo-Pacific.”
