Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan ratcheted up tensions between China and the US, as it claims the island nation to be a part of its territory, and views visits by foreign government officials as recognition of Taiwan’s sovereignty. Pelosi will now continue her Asian visit with a stop at South Korea
TAIPEI, Taiwan: US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan late Tuesday, becoming the highest-ranking American official in 25 years to visit the self-ruled island claimed by China, which quickly announced that it would conduct military maneuvers in retaliation for her presence.
Pelosi flew in aboard a US Air Force passenger jet and was greeted on the tarmac at Taipei’s international airport by Taiwan’s foreign minister and other Taiwanese and American officials.
Pelosi, the first US speaker to visit the island in more than 25 years, courted Beijing’s wrath with the visit and set off more than a week of debate over whether it was a good idea after news of it leaked. In Taipei she remained calm but defiant.
“Today the world faces a choice between democracy and autocracy,” she said in a short speech during a meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. “America’s determination to preserve democracy, here in Taiwan and around the world, remains ironclad.”
Her visit ratcheted up tension between China and the United States because China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, and it views visits by foreign government officials as recognition of the island’s sovereignty.
The Biden administration, and Pelosi, say the United States remains committed to the so-called one-China policy, which recognizes Beijing but allows informal relations and defense ties with Taipei.
The speaker framed the trip as part of a broader mission at a time when “the world faces a choice between autocracy and democracy.” Her visit comes after she led a congressional delegation to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in the spring, and it serves as a capstone to her many years of promoting democracy abroad.
Taiwan’s President wrote on Twitter that Nancy Pelosi’s visit reflects a strong US support for bilateral ties. She also added that it sends a message to the world that democracies stand together in the face of common challenges.
Taiwan and China split during a civil war in 1949, but China claims the island as its own territory and has not ruled out using military force to take it.
The Biden administration did not explicitly urge Pelosi to call off her plans. It repeatedly and publicly assured Beijing that the visit did not signal any change in US policy toward Taiwan.
Soon after Pelosi’s arrival, China announced a series of military operations and drills, which followed promises of “resolute and strong measures” if Pelosi went through with her visit.
China’s official Xinhua News said the army planned to conduct live-fire drills from 4 August to 7 August across multiple locations. An image released by the news agency indicated that the drills were to take place in six different areas in the waters surrounding Taiwan.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Washington’s betrayal “on the Taiwan issue is bankrupting its national credibility.”
“Some American politicians are playing with fire on the issue of Taiwan,” Wang said in a statement that referred to the US as “the world’s biggest saboteur of peace.”
Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan has drawn bipartisan support at home and backing among the world’s democracies.
China has responded to the visit by announcing a series of days-long military exercises surrounding Taiwan and issuing a stream of invective aimed at the US and Taiwan governments, accusing them of colluding to undermine Chinese sovereignty and national security. China in 2016 severed contacts with independence-leaning Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen over her refusal to endorse its insistence that the island and mainland are part of a single Chinese nation.
“This action is a solemn deterrent against the recent major escalation of the negative actions of the United States on the Taiwan issue, and a serious warning to the ‘Taiwan independence’ forces seeking ‘independence,'” the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater command said in a statement Tuesday.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, whose country’s ties with China have nosedived in recent years, declined to comment specifically Wednesday on Pelosi’s visit. However, he noted: “We live in an era where the strategic competition and increased tension in our region and where China has taken a more aggressive posture in the region.”
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno also avoided commenting on Pelosi’s Taiwan visit, but raised concern about China’s planned live-fire military exercises in the regional seas that encompass parts of Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
Chinese ally North Korea, meanwhile, used the visit to accuse the US of being “the root cause of harassed peace and security in the region,” and said it supported Beijing in the confrontation surrounding Pelosi’s visit.
Russia called the visit a “clear provocation, which is in line with the United States’ aggressive policy aimed at comprehensively containing China.”
Airlines operating in Asia have been warned by China to avoid flying in and around the airspace near Taiwan where it has been conducting military exercises in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island.
Six areas in the region have been designated as “danger zones”, the closest being nine nautical miles from island.
The information has been notified by carriers who have been asked to not to fly airplanes from Thursday noon to Sunday noon Sunday Hong Kong time.
The PLA will also be blocking the waterways of Taiwan’s main ports during the drills.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense on Wednesday accused Beijing of violating international law and Taipei’s sovereignty, due to China’s announced live-fire military exercises that are expected to take place in six different areas around Taiwan.
A report by Bloomberg mentioned China’s Xiamen Airlines Co. announcing adjustments to several flights, citing “flow control” in Fujian, which is situated just across the Taiwan Strait from the island.
Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. pilots have been advised to carry 30 minutes worth of extra fuel for possible rerouting in Taiwan.
Korean Air is planning to reroute some of its flights to South Asia to avoid Taiwan’s airspace during the period of China’s military exercises, the report quoted a spokeswoman saying.
China suspended imports from hundreds of Taiwanese food factories, including biscuits and pastries.
The Taipei-based United Daily News reported that the ban was imposed on Monday night.
Biscuits and pastries are important trading items between Taiwan and China, including Hong Kong.
About two thirds of exports from Taiwan in 2021 were biscuits and pastries, with a total value of $646 million, Taiwanese media reports. In 2020, the value reached $660 million, accounting for 37 per cent of the total export.
In addition to the suspension of biscuit and pastries from Taiwan, China has also suspended some citrus fruit as well as fish imports — such as chilled white striped hairtail and frozen horse mackerel — from the island nation.
China defended their import of citrus fruits alleging ‘repeated’ detection of excessive pesticide residue.
On Wednesday, China’s Ministry of Commerce said it had suspended sand exports in line with unspecified legal provisions. Such a move was based on laws and regulations, the ministry said, without elaborating.
News agency AFP reports that most of Taiwan’s imported sand and gravel, which is used for producing concrete and asphalt, comes from China.
Sand is crucial for Taiwan as a raw material for construction projects, including transport and water conservancy, while it is also used for producing silicon wafers in chip production, which is one of the island’s key manufacturing sectors.
The US House Speaker departed Taiwan on Wednesday evening, ending a controversial landmark visit that Beijing responded to with threats and military drills. Nancy Pelosi waved to waiting dignitaries at Taipei’s Songshan airport before boarding a US military aircraft that took off at 6pm (1000 GMT), live broadcasts showed.
With inputs from agencies
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