Tensions in Asia
US delegation meets Taiwan’s President – China feels provoked again
STORY: Shortly after the controversial visit to Taiwan by the President of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, another American delegation traveled to the island republic. Members of the US Congress arrived in the capital Taipei on Sunday and were expected there by representatives on Monday, according to the US Mission in Taiwan and the Taiwanese Presidential Office. The visit is part of a trip to the Indo-Pacific region, according to the statement by the representation, which performs the duties of an embassy. The People’s Republic of China, which regards Taiwan as a breakaway province, criticized the visit as interfering in China’s internal affairs and endangering stability in the region. The US countered that visits by US members of Congress to Taiwan are not uncommon and consistent with the US One China policy. Pelosi visited Taiwan last week. China sees the visit as a provocation and a violation of its own sovereignty and, after its departure, launched maneuvers in the immediate vicinity of the island on an unprecedented scale. Most recently, 13 Chinese warplanes entered Taiwan’s airspace on Saturday. The government in Beijing is threatening all countries that maintain or establish contacts with the democratically governed island with consequences.
Tensions in Asia are increasing again. The reason is another visit by US envoys to Taiwan. China speaks of a provocation and announces further military maneuvers.
Almost two weeks after the dispute over the visit to Taiwan by US top politician Nancy Pelosi, the visit of another US delegation to Taipei has triggered new tensions with Beijing. Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen received the five congressmen led by Democratic Senator Ed Markey at the presidential palace on Monday, local media reported.
According to the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a meeting with President Tsai and a banquet with Foreign Minister Joseph Wu were planned. The ministry said in a statement that as China “further escalates tensions in the region,” the US Congress has again sent a high-level delegation to visit Taiwan “to show a friendship that does not shy away from China’s threats and fears intimidation”. During the “extended visit to the Indo-Pacific region” in Taiwan, the politicians want to talk about bilateral relations, regional security, trade and investment and climate change, among other things.
China wants to deter the US and Taiwan
The Chinese side spoke of another “provocation” and announced new maneuvers around the democratic island republic in order to increase the pressure on Taiwan and the USA. Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian saw a “blatant violation” of the China-US agreements and a violation of Chinese sovereignty and territorial integrity. The visit sends a “wrong signal to the independence forces” in Taiwan.
The PLA’s maneuvers in the “sea and airspace” around Taiwan are intended to deter Washington and Taipei from continuing to “undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” military command spokesman Shi Yi said on Monday. The armed forces would “resolutely defend national sovereignty”. China’s military will continue to “prepare for war,” vigorously defending China’s sovereignty, and resolutely crushing any form of Taiwan separatism and foreign interference.
China’s anger at the US delegation’s visit was expressed in a comment released by the official Xinhua news agency. The piece, titled “US Politicians Should Stop Playing with Fire on the Taiwan Issue,” vilified the five lawmakers who visited Taiwan with self-serving motives for November’s midterm elections as “opportunists.” “There is no room for compromise or concession when it comes to China’s core interests,” the comment said.
Pelosi’s visit sparked military maneuvers
China had already held large-scale military exercises in response to the visit of US House Speaker Pelosi to Taiwan. A sea and air blockade of Taiwan and a possible conquest were practiced. The Chinese leadership rejects official contacts from other countries to Taiwan because they see the island as part of the People’s Republic. On the other hand, Taiwan sees itself as independent. US officials’ stop in Taiwan comes as part of a larger tour of the Indo-Pacific region.