US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said China’s missile firing during military exercises around Taiwan was an unfair escalation, while Beijing said it would sanction US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her visit to the island.
Diplomatic relations worsened Friday after China’s Foreign Ministry announced it would cancel talks between the US and Chinese military leaders and suspend bilateral talks on climate and maritime security.
Blinken said Washington has repeatedly made clear to Beijing that it does not want a crisis amid diplomatic turmoil over Pelosi’s visit to the autonomous island this week, which Beijing considers part of its sovereign territory.
“There is no justification for this extreme, disproportionate and escalating military response,” Blinken said at a press conference during the Asean Regional Forum in Cambodia. Said. “They have now taken dangerous actions to a new level,” he added.
China launched its largest-ever military exercises in the seas and skies around Taiwan on Thursday, a day after Pelosi angered Beijing by making a solidarity trip to the island during the US’s highest-profile visit to Taiwan in 25 years. Live shooting exercises are scheduled to continue until noon on Sunday.
The People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command said in an official statement Friday that the Chinese military is holding air and naval exercises in the north, southwest and east of Taiwan “to test the joint combat capabilities of the troops” on Friday.Weibo.
Blinken stressed that the United States will not take steps to provoke a crisis, but will continue to support regional allies and maintain standard air and sea passage through the Taiwan Strait.
“We will fly, sail and operate where international law allows,” he said.
The White House on Thursday urged Chinese Ambassador Qin Gang to condemn the escalating actions against Taiwan.
State Department officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on China’s halting negotiations or to a report that Washington had summoned its ambassador to Beijing.
China’s Foreign Ministry announced on Friday that it will impose sanctions on Pelosi and her family in response to the “provocative” actions of the Speaker of the US House of Representatives.
“Despite China’s serious concerns and determined opposition, Pelosi has insisted on visiting Taiwan, has seriously interfered with China’s internal affairs, undermined China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, trampled on the ‘one China’ policy, and the Taiwan Strait.” threatened the peace and stability of A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The State Department said it has also suspended cooperation in preventing cross-border and anti-drug crimes, and cooperating in repatriating illegal immigrants.
Speaking in Japan, Pelosi said her trip to Asia was never intended to change the regional status quo.
source: Noticias
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