US VP Kamala Harris Vows To Back Taiwan, Set To Discuss Countering China, North Korea Aggression

The US will deepen its unofficial connections with Taiwan and back its right to self-defense, according to US Vice President Kamala Harris, who also accused China of attempting to disrupt the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.

On Wednesday, Harris said Beijing had undermined the international system of rules-based order and flexed its military and economic might to coerce and intimidate its neighbors while speaking to American soldiers aboard the USS Howard, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer based in Yokosuka, Japan.

Kamala Harris Blasts China's 'Disturbing' Actions

The US will continue to operate in the region undaunted and unafraid, she stated adding that stability and peace in the Taiwan Strait are important features of a "free and open Indo-Pacific." As tensions rise following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the island, President Joe Biden stated last week that the nation would support Taiwan if it were invaded by China.

Beijing considers the self-governing island to be a part of its territory and has never ruled out the use of force to try to bring it under its control. Last week at the UN General Assembly, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi underlined his country's resolve, stating that only unification will bring peace to the Taiwan Strait and threatening conflict with the US if it continues to meddle, as per SCMP.

By the One China policy, the US accepts China's assertion that Taiwan is a part of China, but it has never formally acknowledged the Communist Party's claim to the 23 million-person island that is self-governing. However, the US has carefully avoided saying whether it would use force to defend Taiwan against an assault by China.

Taiwan receives defense armaments from the US. Harris reminded US troops that the US has a deep stake in the future of the Indo-Pacific and that their presence there is in pursuit of peace and stability, and to help our allies and partners.

Harris is in the area to meet with government representatives from Japan, South Korea, and Australia. He is also leading a presidential delegation to the state burial of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which was held on Tuesday. The US vice president is scheduled to visit the demilitarized zone between South Korea and North Korea on Thursday after arriving in South Korea from Japan, according to CNN.

North Korea Fires Ballistic Missile Ahead of Harris' DMZ Visit

One day before Harris is scheduled to visit the DMZ, separating the two countries, South Korea's military stated that North Korea had launched a ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan. The second missile launched by the pariah state in four days, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, was launched from North Korea into its eastern waters. No further information was provided.

As North Korea continues to develop its military capabilities, it has increased its testing activities to a record level since the beginning of 2022, launching more than 30 ballistic weapons, it will also launch its first intercontinental ballistic missiles in 2017.

However, Vice President Harris will be the first senior member of President Joe Biden's administration to visit the DMZ tomorrow, less than 24 hours after today's missile launch. US and South Korean officials said that trip is intended to highlight the alliance between Seoul and Washington in the face of any threats posed by North Korea.

North Korea views the combined maritime military exercises that the US and South Korea are now conducting as invasion rehearsals, even though both countries' claim that they are purely defensive. As South Korea's spy service issued a warning that the North has finished its nuclear weapons test preparations, it suggested a three-week window from October 16 to November 7 as a potential time frame for its execution.

This would be the North's first nuclear test since 2017 and represent a depressing turning point in the nuclear diplomacy standoff between Pyongyang, Seoul, and Washington. On Thursday, Harris will pay a visit to the DMZ, joining a lengthy list of dignitaries and visitors who have come to see reclusive North Korea.

Despite its name, the DMZ is heavily guarded against coast to coast with razor wire, heavy weapons, and tank traps on either side of a mile-wide clearing. It was created as a result of the 1950-1953 Korean War, which concluded in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

Presidents of the United States and other prominent countries have traveled to the area, frequently donning military-style coats and bringing with them messages of support for the partnership that retains close to 30,000 American soldiers stationed in South Korea, Daily Mail reported.