Speaker Nancy Pelosi became the highest-ranking American official to visit Taiwan in 25 years. Her visit precipitated a high-stakes dispute between the United States and China.
China, which is irritated by any perceived threat to its claims to the island, has replied by announcing preparations for live-fire military maneuvers near Taiwan's seas and airspace beginning on Thursday.
Pelosi Arrives in Taiwan
Chinese authorities had repeatedly told Pelosi not to go. Pelosi issued a statement shortly after her arrival on Tuesday, stating that the visit demonstrated America's unwavering commitment to Taiwan's democracy. However, China's foreign ministry stated that Pelosi's visit seriously threatens China's sovereignty, and the US has voiced fear that China may exploit the visit to justify military action.
The Taiwanese people have reacted positively to Pelosi's visit. Their stance reflects a political reality that has hardened over the last decade; many island inhabitants have grown tired of China's threats and seek US help, according to New York Times. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement accusing Pelosi, D-Calif., of damaging US-China ties and aiding separatist forces for 'Taiwan independence.
The People's Republic of China has long claimed sovereignty over Taiwan and the Taiwan Strait, a thin swath of ocean separating Taiwan from the Chinese mainland. The Chinese military has often flown planes into the region, putting Taiwan's air defense zone to the test.
The United States maintains a One China Policy that acknowledges the People's Republic of China as the lawful successor nation to Taiwan, commonly known as the Republic of China. However, as China strives to isolate the island from global institutions, the United States has increased its involvement with it. Pelosi maintains that the diplomatic visit is not designed to destabilize US-China ties or to legitimize US-Taiwan cooperation.
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China Claims Its Right to Take Action
China issued the latest ambiguous warning, threatening to protect itself from US involvement in Taiwan. The mainland country went on to say that all the ramifications of the visit should be laid solely on the US, as per Fox News. Under the rules of the decades-old Taiwan Relations Act, the US supplies Taiwan with defensive weapons while being purposely unclear on whether it would protect Taiwan in the case of a Chinese invasion - a tactic known as strategic ambiguity.
Qin Gang, China's ambassador to the United States, told CNN's John King that Beijing was within its sovereign rights to respond to Pelosi's visit. Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense reported on Tuesday, the day Pelosi arrived, that 21 Chinese jets flew into its air defense identification zone (ADIZ).
The intrusions were carried out by ten J-16 fighter planes, eight J-11 fighter jets, one Y-9 electronic warfare aircraft, one Y-8 electronic intelligence aircraft, and one KJ-500 airborne early warning and control aircraft, according to a statement issued by Taiwan's Defense Ministry on Tuesday night.
The Taiwanese military responded by issuing radio alerts and deploying air defense missile systems to monitor the activity, it claimed. China often deploys airplanes into Taiwan's self-proclaimed air defense identification zone (ADIZ). The most invasions were ever recorded on October 4, last year, when 56 military planes flew into the region at the same time. An ADIZ is imposed unilaterally and is separate from sovereign airspace, which is recognized by international law as extending 12 nautical miles from the shoreline of a territory, CNN reported.
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