United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday warned China that it should not "manufacture a crisis" or seek a pretense to increase its aggressive military action on the world stage.
The remarks come as Beijing fired missiles towards waters near Taiwan as part of exercises near the self-governing island in the wake of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit. While speaking at the ASEAN-US Ministerial meeting held in Cambodia, Blinken talked about ASEAN and China.
China-U.S. Relations
He said that "many countries around the world believe that escalation serves no one and could have unintended consequences that serve no one's interest, including ASEAN members and including China."
Blinken revealed that they have reached out to engage the People's Republic of China in recent days at every level of government to convey that message. He added that maintaining cross-strait stability is the interest that all countries in the region, including all within ASEAN, should strive for.
The secretary said that the United States remains committed to its "One China" policy guided by its commitments to the Taiwan Relations Act, Three Communiques, and Six Assurances. He emphasized that nothing has changed about the country's position regarding the situation, as per CNN.
Blinken's remarks come as the Chinese military's Eastern Theater Command released a statement on Thursday saying that multiple missiles were fired into the sea off the eastern part of Taiwan. It said that all of the targets hit their targets accurately.
China's statement noted that the entire live-fire training mission was successfully completed and that the relevant air and sea area control was lifted. The situation comes as Pelosi's visit to Taiwan is the first a House speaker traveled to the island nation in the last 25 years.
According to US News, Blinken said prior to Pelosi's trip that she will make her own decisions about whether or not to visit Taiwan. He argued that Congress is an independent, coequal branch of government.
Threats After Pelosi's Taiwan Visit
However, the secretary also downplayed the significance of the California Democrat's planned visit to Taiwan, which China considers part of its territory. Blinken argued that if Pelosi chose to visit the island nation, and China tries to create some kind of crisis, the responsibility would fall on Beijing.
In recent weeks, several senior Chinese political, military, and diplomatic officials have issued direct threats in response to the planned visit. Beijing said it considers the visit a direct affront to the fragile collection of diplomatic agreements that govern the U.S.-China relationship, which is similar to provoking a military response.
Despite Blinken's attempts to calm the tensions between the two countries after Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, Chinese officials continue to criticize the recent incident. On Tuesday, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said that those U.S. politicians who "play with fire" on the Taiwan issue will "come to no good end."
The remarks are another set of threats that Beijing officials have issued to American diplomats who have engaged in discussions with the self-governing island nation. Wang's remarks did not include any specific U.S. politician, Reuters reported.