of China A show of force Thursday’s actions against Taiwan included launching missiles into the sea and threatening the island’s territorial waters. Taiwan China launched 11 ballistic missiles off its northeast and southwest coasts, and five Chinese missiles landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, Japanese officials said.
The White House reiterated to Quinn that it wants to keep all lines of communication open and that nothing has changed in America’s one-China policy. But the White House insisted Beijing’s actions were unacceptable and would stand up for its values in the Indo-Pacific.
The previously unannounced meeting was between Qin and Kurt Campbell, deputy assistant to President Biden and coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs at the National Security Council, a White House official said on condition of anonymity. Share details of a private conversation.
China’s military actions escalated on Thursday Tensions in the Taiwan Strait To the highest level in decades, raising fears of a dangerous miscalculation in one of the world’s most highly charged geopolitical flashpoints. Beijing has openly expressed its anger Pelosi’s visit to TaiwanIt is awaiting annexation of part of its territory, and US-China relations are already strained by disputes over trade, human rights and other issues.
The White House referred Kirby to a report by the Group of Seven Industrialized Democracies, which urged China not to use Pelosi’s visit as a pretext for aggressive military action in the Taiwan Strait. The White House expressed support for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, statement, which called on all sides to ease tensions and engage in dialogue.
“We made clear once again what we’ve done privately and publicly at the highest levels: Nothing has changed in our one-China policy. We also made it clear that the United States is ready for whatever Beijing wants to do,” Kirby said. “We do not seek, and do not want, a crisis. At the same time, we will not be deterred from acting in accordance with international law, as we have for decades, in the seas and skies of the Western Pacific – to support Taiwan and to protect a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command conducted long-range, live-fire drills and “precision strikes” in the eastern parts of the strait. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said the PLA fired 11 Dongfeng ballistic missiles.
The White House sought to ease tensions with China before and after Pelosi’s visit, something the speaker did against the administration’s wishes. White House officials warned earlier this week that China was preparing for possible aggressive actions that could continue beyond Pelosi’s visit.
A White House official said all senior members of Biden’s national security team had privately expressed deep reservations about the trip and its timing. They were particularly worried because US-China tensions were already high and Washington was courting China. Cooperation in the war in Ukraine And other things.
Top White House officials defended Pelosi’s right to travel to Taiwan publicly and to their counterparts in China, but some of them still don’t think the trip is a good idea, the official said.
China has been trying to isolate Taiwan diplomatically for years. The Chinese Communist Party claims the island, a self-governing democracy of more than 23 million people, as its territory, and Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed to “reunite” Taiwan with China by force if necessary.
But Pelosi doubled down on Thursday, China says Cannot succeed in bullying the island.
“They may try to prevent Taiwan from going to other places or participating, but they will not isolate Taiwan,” Pelosi said in Tokyo, the last stop of her tour. “They didn’t do our travel schedule. The Chinese government didn’t do that.
At a news conference Thursday, Kirby said the United States would respond to China’s actions.
He said the U.S. would conduct regular air and sea traffic through the Taiwan Strait in the next few weeks and take “further steps” to stand with its allies in the region, including Japan, although he did not specify what those steps would be. fiancee. Kirby added that the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan and its battle group will monitor the situation near Taiwan.
Lily Guo contributed to this report.
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