Beijing [China]: China intends to conduct missile tests and live firing as part of its military operations near Taiwan, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said on Tuesday after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taipei.
“The Chinese armed forces will begin military operations around Taiwan, long-range live firing will be held in the Taiwan Strait, and conventional missile tests will be organized in the sea area of the eastern part of the island,” Sputnik news agency quoted Eastern Theater Command spokesperson Shi Yi as saying. “These actions are a fair deterrent to the recent major escalation of US negative actions on the Taiwan issue and a serious warning to the pro-Taiwan independence forces,” Shi Yi said.
Pelosi landed in Taiwan tonight as part of a Congressional delegation’s tour of the Indo-Pacific region in the face of the China threat.
The US House Speaker, who is second in line to the Oval Office after the US vice-president, reaffirmed her country’s unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan’s democracy and said this trip in no way contradicts longstanding United States policy on the self-governed island.
“Our discussions with Taiwan leadership will focus on reaffirming our support for our partner and on promoting our shared interests, including advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” Pelosi said in a statement after arriving in Taiwan.
She expressed US solidarity with 23 million people of Taiwan in the face of the increasing threat from China.
China firmly opposed Pelosi’s Taiwan visit and called the trip a serious violation of the one-China principle and the provisions of the joint communique signed between the two countries.
“On 2 August, in disregard of China’s strong opposition and serious representations, Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi visited China’s Taiwan region. This is a serious violation of the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-US joint communiques,” Xinhua news agency quoted the Chinese Foreign Ministry as saying.
Beijing said the visit gravely undermines peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and sends a seriously wrong signal to the “separatist forces for Taiwan independence”.
