Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi held a meeting Wednesday with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in which he proclaimed a sentence that only added tension with China. The US official assured him his country “will not abandon” to the island, which he described as an “example” to the world.

“Today our delegation … came to Taiwan to make it clear, unequivocally, that we will not abandon our commitment to Taiwan and that we are proud of our lasting friendship,” Pelosi said.

Pelosi’s presence in Taiwan further strained US-China relationsclaiming sovereignty on the island e classified this trip as a provocation with which the North American country violates the status quo existing on this territory, one of the main reasons for bilateral conflict.

China considers the island a rebellious province, since the Kuomintang nationalists withdrew there in 1949 after losing the civil war against the Communists.

Taiwan, with which the United States does not have official relations, is one of the main reasons for the conflict between China and the North American nation, mainly because Washington is the island’s main arms supplier and would be its greatest military ally. in the event of a war conflict with the Asian giant.

For his part, after that meeting, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said so the island “won’t back down”as China prepares to hold military exercises and impose trade sanctions in retaliation for Pelosi’s visit.

“In the face of growing and deliberate military threats, we will keep the defense line of democracyTsai said this at the meeting with Pelosi in Taipei.

The Taiwanese president, who decorated Pelosi with the Order of Clouds propitious for her “support” for the territory, expressed her hope that Taiwan and the United States “continue their mutual support” to make democracy “shine again. “. At the same time, she thanked Pelosi for her support of him at a “critical moment”.

American politics landed in Taipei on Tuesday night on an unofficially announced trip which has outraged the Chinese government, which is responding with a military deployment in the Taiwan Strait and trade sanctions on the island.

Pelosi began the public agenda of his visit to Taiwan today at the House of Representatives, where he met the institute’s vice president, Tsai Chi-chang. She also plans to hold meetings with members of the four political parties represented in the legislature, including the Democratic Progressive Party (PPD) and the Kuomintang opposition.

After a few hours’ stopover, the president of the US legislature and second in line of succession at the White House is expected to resume her tour of Asia, which will take her to South Korea and Japan, after stopovers on Mondays and Tuesday in Singapore and Malaysia.

This is the first visit by a US House Speaker to Taiwan since 1997, when Republican Newt Gingrich visited the island. It is also the highest-level visit by a United States representative since that date, although several congressional delegations have passed in recent months.

Taiwan reported that 21 Chinese military aircraft entered its air defense identification zone

The Taiwan Ministry of Defense reported on Wednesday that, on the last day, a total of 21 Chinese military aircraft entered it is located in the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).

The ministry announced the raids shortly after Pelosi’s arrival on the island, although it clarified that the entry of the planes occurred before the arrival of the senior US official.

According to the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense, J-16 and J-11 fighters, KJ-500 radar aircraft and Y-8 and Y-9 reconnaissance aircraft took part in the raid, which took place in the southwestern part of ADIZ of Taiwan.

The island’s Air Force has issued radio alarms and mobilized units to “respond” to the foray into the ADIZ, which is not defined or regulated by any international treaty and is not equivalent to their airspace, but rather covers a wider area that includes areas of mainland China.

The island’s Ministry of Defense began reporting that Chinese planes raided its ADIZ in 2009. Over the past year, the number of Chinese raids has increased, actions that have been condemned by both Taiwan and the United States.

These movements peaked in frequency in early October last year, when Beijing celebrated the founding anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.

Japan protested against Chinese military exercises in Taiwan

The government of Japan protested Wednesday against China’s announced military maneuvers around Taiwan On a full visit by the president of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, she also called for the containment of the neighboring country.

“Japan is concerned about China’s announced military activities,” Japanese government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno said at a press conference today, showing the country’s disappointment that drills, which include live fire, are taking place. in a maritime zone which comprises part of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Japan.

In this sense, he added: “Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are important not only for the security of Japan, but for the stability of the international community”. At the same time, you recalled that Japan’s position on this thorny dispute is that “the problem must be resolved peacefully through dialogue”.

Matsuno also referred to Pelosi’s scheduled stop in Japan as part of his Asia tour. “The agenda of Pelosi’s visit is still in preparation”, said the spokesman, who assured that “Japan welcomes his visit, which will strengthen communication between the (parliamentary) chambers of both countries”.

It will be Pelosi’s first visit after the Asian country awarded her the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun in 2015, one of the highest decorations in Japan.

The controversial visit of Nancy Pelosi and the threat from China

In a position of open defiance of China, Nancy Pelosi, the spokesperson for the US House of Representatives, finally landed in Taiwan on Tuesday after leaving Malaysia.

Pelosi got off the plane dressed in pink and with a mask on the runway, where she was greeted by the representatives of the Taiwanese government. The democratic leader, warned by China of the serious mistake that would mean stepping on Taiwanese soil, arrived in Taipei without having confirmed his trip to the island.

In response to Pelosi’s visit, the Chinese military promised Tuesday to launch “selective military actions” with the aim of “defending China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

For its part, the Eastern Theater of Operations of the People’s Liberation Army (Chinese Army), has notified the organization of both sea and air military maneuvers in the north, south-west and south-east of Taiwan, which will begin Tuesday night.

In an opinion column published in the Washington Post, Pelosi explained that his visit to Taiwan serves to “support” the democracy of the island in the face of the “threats” it faces from China.

Russia expressed its “absolute solidarity” with its Chinese ally on Tuesdayin a gesture that responds to the fact that Beijing has refused to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“Everything about this tour and a possible visit to Taiwan is pure provocation. This aggravates the situation in the region and increases tensions,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov.

With information from EFE, AFP and ANSA.

IS