China Summons US Envoy over Pelosi’s Visit to Taiwan
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng summoned US Ambassador Nicholas Burns on Tuesday night to lodge “stern representations” over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, and warn Washington against going down a “dangerous path” of antagonizing Beijing.
“The move is extremely egregious in nature and the consequences are extremely serious. China will not sit idly by,” Xie told the US envoy to Beijing, as cited by Xinhua.
“Taiwan will eventually return to the embrace of the motherland,” Xie added, stressing that no force or individual should underestimate the “firm resolve, strong will and great capability” of the Chinese people to “defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
“The US must pay the price for its own mistake. China will take necessary and resolute countermeasures and we mean what we say,” China’s state-run newspaper Global Times quoted the diplomat as saying.
Beijing announced a series of military drills and live-fire drills in six maritime zones and Chinese-controlled airspace near Taiwan after Pelosi arrived in Taipei late on Tuesday.
“The Chinese People’s Liberation Army is on high alert and will launch a series of targeted military operations to counter this, resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and resolutely thwart external interference and ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist attempts,” Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said.
Burns has not yet responded to the diplomatic reprimand, but Pelosi herself sent a quick response via Twitter after arriving in Taipei. She claimed her visit honors Washington’s “unwavering commitment” to the island, but in “no way contradicts” the long-standing US policy on Taiwan.
The third most senior official in the US government, Pelosi is currently on a tour of the Asian region. She has visited Singapore and Malaysia and is expected to hold high-level talks in South Korea and Japan. A stop in Taiwan was not on her official itinerary ahead of the tour.
Taiwan has been self-governed since 1949, when China’s nationalist government fled to the island following its defeat in the civil war. Beijing considers the island an integral part of the country’s territory and has repeatedly warned that the One China principle is a red line that no country is allowed to cross.