China’s government has announced sanctions against US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for “vicious and provocative actions” in going to Taiwan, as heavy military activity on the island continues.
The sanctions, which also target immediate family members of Pelosi, were reported by state media late Friday.
“Pelosi… insists on distancing himself from Taiwan, seriously interferes in China’s internal affairs, seriously undermines China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, seriously tramples on the one-China principle, and seriously threatens the peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” he said.
Earlier, the US condemned China’s launch of ballistic missiles around Taiwan during major live-fire drills as an “overreaction” as several Chinese ships and aircraft crossed the median line again.
Aggressive military displays by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) began on Thursday in response to Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan and have raised tensions in East Asia.
Hundreds of PLA air force and navy vessels are taking part in the drills in six areas surrounding Taiwan and encroaching on its territorial seas. At least 11 Dongfeng ballistic missiles were fired near or over Taiwan on Thursday, while dozens of warplanes and ships have crossed the Middle Line, an unofficial border in the Taiwan Strait that is one of the routes busiest transport lines in the world.
‘We will defend ourselves’: Taiwan president issues warning to China – video
On Friday, Taiwan’s defense ministry announced that several PLA ships and aircraft had crossed the median line during the morning. The ministry said it had dispatched aircraft and ships and deployed ground-based missile systems to bring the situation under control.
“Adhering to the principle of preparing for war and not seeking war, the national military will work together to firmly defend national sovereignty and security,” he said.
White House spokesman John Kirby said earlier that China had used Pelosi’s visit as a pretext to increase its provocative military action and had “chose to overreact.” He said “the temperature is quite high” but tensions “can go down very easily with just the Chinese stopping these very aggressive military exercises.”
In an interview with MSNBC on Thursday, Kirby said, “We’ve been watching it very, very closely.” He also warned of the risk posed by the exercises, saying: “One of the things that is problematic about exercises like this or missile launches like this is … the risk of a mistake that could actually lead to some kind of conflict”.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told an Asian meeting of top diplomats on Friday that China’s reaction was “flagrantly provocative”. Blinken, speaking at the East Asia Summit in Cambodia, said China had tried to bully not only Taiwan but also its neighbors, an official said.
Japan’s prime minister also called for an immediate halt to the drills after his government said at least five missiles landed in its exclusive economic zone.
Taiwan’s Prime Minister Su Tseng-chang said Friday that China was arbitrarily sabotaging the world’s busiest waterway with its military exercises. Su said China was a “bad neighbor flexing its muscles at our door.”
Taiwan has condemned the exercises as “irrational actions that undermine regional peace”. He confirmed that some missile trajectories overran the main island of Taiwan, but said they took a more atmospheric path and posed no threat. Astronomer Jonathan McDowell estimated that they were about 200 km (125 mi) in the air as they flew over the land mass.
The exercises have been heavily criticized by foreign governments and multilateral bodies including the G7 and the EU, while members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have called for calm. Shortly after meeting with Pelosi on Friday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the drills were a “serious problem affecting our national security and the safety of our citizens.”
As she wrapped up her Asia tour, Pelosi said the US would “not allow” China to isolate Taiwan. “They may try to prevent Taiwan from visiting or participating elsewhere, but they will not isolate Taiwan by preventing us from traveling there,” he told reporters in Tokyo.
He also defended his trip to Taiwan amid some criticism that it contributed to heightened tensions without commensurate tangible benefit. “This is not about me, this is about Taiwan,” he said. “It’s about saying we celebrate Taiwan.”
But Beijing has doubled down on its rhetoric. On Friday, China’s foreign ministry summoned Japanese, European and EU envoys to make “solemn representations” about their remarks. According to state media, China’s Vice Foreign Minister Deng Li accused them of “distorting the facts and reversing black and white,” with their “willful interference in China’s internal affairs.” .
The statement repeated China’s claims that the “one China” principle, a Chinese national policy outlining its geopolitical claim over Taiwan, was upheld by foreign governments. In reality, several governments have their own China policies that allow some recognition of Beijing’s position, but do not always recognize Taiwan’s claim. The US, for example, says Taiwan’s status is unresolved.
PLA exercises are scheduled to continue over the weekend. The six identified zones surround the island of Taiwan and in some places overlap with Taiwan’s territorial waters that extend 12 miles off its coast. Non-PLA air and sea vessels have been warned to stay out of the areas, some of which are near ports and key flight routes.
China carried out “precision missile strikes” in waters off Taiwan’s coast on Thursday Picture: AP
Korean Air and Singapore Airlines said they had canceled flights there from Taipei on Friday because of the drills, and the Korean carrier also canceled its Saturday flights and delayed Sunday flights.
Taiwanese authorities estimate that around 900 flights will be affected by the need to reroute and have said that blocked access to ports is tantamount to a blockade.
Military analysts told Beijing’s state broadcaster CCTV on Thursday that the aim was to practice a possible blockade of the island and contain its pro-independence forces.
“The objective is to show that the PLA [People’s Liberation Army] is able to control all exits from the island of Taiwan, which will be a great deterrent to the secessionist forces of ‘Taiwan independence,'” said Zhang Junshe, a senior researcher at the Naval Research Institute from China
Analysts said China’s leadership was ready to project strength ahead of a crucial meeting of the ruling party this fall in which President Xi Jinping is expected to win an unprecedented third term, but that China would not he aims to escalate the situation beyond his control. – at least for now.
Titus Chen, an associate professor of political science at Taiwan’s National Sun Yat-Sen University, said: “The last thing Xi wants is an accidental war.”
With Agence France-Presse