Tuesday saw China’s Foreign Ministry denounce Nancy Pelosi’s travel to China, claiming it gravely jeopardized the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait.
China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement released shortly after Pelosi arrived in Taipei late on Tuesday that her visit has a significant negative influence on the political foundations of China-U.S. ties and that it has strongly protested to the United States.
The Chinese military also said that it will undertake exercises that seemed to violate Taiwan’s territorial seas, potentially provoking conflict between China and the United States over the autonomous island.
According to a statement made by the Xinhua news agency, Beijing revealed plans for six zones surrounding Taiwan where it said it will conduct live-fire military maneuvers from Thursday to Sunday. In certain regions, some of which overlap with the island’s territorial seas, ships and planes have been advised against trespassing for “safety concerns,” according to the statement.
In response to Nancy Pelosi’s “egregious” travel to Taiwan, China summoned the US Ambassador to Beijing on Tuesday, according to official media.
China’s official news outlet Xinhua cited Xie as stating, “The action is exceedingly flagrant in character, and the repercussions are extremely serious.” “China won’t watch helplessly.”
As the most prominent elected US official to visit Taiwan in 25 years, Pelosi’s travel heightened tensions between the two largest economies in the world, with Beijing viewing it as a serious provocation.
Within minutes after landing in Taiwan on Tuesday, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared that her visit—the highest-level one by a US official in more than 20 years—was evidence of “America’s unflinching” dedication to aiding the island country.
The highest-profile elected US official to visit Taiwan in 25 years is Pelosi, who is second in line to the presidency. Beijing has made it clear that it views Pelosi’s visit as a serious provocation, which has put the region on edge.