Beijing, China- Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, has said China will act strongly if the United States (U.S) House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, continues with her planned trip to Taiwan which is set for August year.
Already Chinese planes have entered Taiwan’s air defence identification zone but have not violated international law.
“Should the U.S side insist on making the visit, China will act strongly to resolutely respond to it and take countermeasures. We mean what we say,” said Wang.
Tensions between Washington and Beijing over the issue of Taiwan have heightened in recent months. The Chinese Communist Party has long claimed democratically ruled Taiwan as part of its territory and has repeatedly vowed to reunify with the island of 24 million people by force if necessary despite having never governed it.
In addition, another Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, said that Pelosi’s visit would have a severe negative impact on the political foundation of China-US relations, and send a gravely wrong signal to Taiwan’s independence separatist forces.
“If the U.S insists on going down the wrong path, China will definitely take resolute and forceful measures to firmly defend its national sovereignty and territorial integrity. The United States must be fully responsible for all the consequences caused by this,” said Zhao.
However, the U.S has committed to providing Taiwan with the means to defend itself, though recent weapons sales to Taiwan have been slow to arrive.
Pelosi previously planned a trip to Taiwan in April this year but had to cancel it after testing positive for COVID-19. It was anticipated that Pelosi would move forward with her trip at another time, setting the stage for this latest development in the US-China saga.
Chinese officials have made it clear that reunifying Taiwan with the mainland is one of their top priorities. They have also said repeatedly that Beijing would fight at all costs to prevent secession, as Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe put it at the 19th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore last month.
Nevertheless, U.S State Department spokesperson, Ned Price, has since said that the U.S is still adhering to the one-China policy, noting that the U.S does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan but has a robust unofficial relationship with the island.
Pelosi said it’s important to show support for Taiwan on Thursday, but said that she would not be discussing any travel plans, calling to a security issue.
