Five US deputies visited Taiwan this Friday (26) amid tensions between Washington and Beijing, which considers the island a rebel province and accuses the Americans of interfering in China’s internal affairs.
The Chinese military, in turn, patrolled the Taiwan Straits, repeating the exercise carried out earlier this month, during the visit of another American delegation to Taipei.
Under the command of the People’s Liberation Army, naval and air forces were organized in a state of combat readiness in the region.
“Relevant actions are needed to deal with the current situation in the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan is part of the territory of China and defending national sovereignty and territorial integrity is the sacred mission of our military personnel,” the statement from the Chinese Armed Forces said.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said at least eight Chinese aircraft, including two nuclear-capable H-6 bombers, had flown into the island’s air defense zone, albeit far from the mainland.
In a meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, US congressional delegation leader Mark Takano described the island as a “force for good” and said that, under Tsai’s administration, ties to the US had to greater productivity in decades.
In late October, the leader granted an interview to the American press and confirmed reports that more than 20 members of US special operations and a contingent of marines have been in Taiwanese territory for more than a year. The statement came weeks after the largest air raid in Chinese history against Taipei’s defenses.
According to Takano, deputies are in the region to remind partners and allies that the shared responsibility for keeping the Indo-Pacific free and safe is stronger than ever. Before visiting the island, the delegation visited Japan and South Korea.
“Our commitment to Taiwan is rock solid and has remained firm as ties between us have deepened,” the deputy said. “Taiwan is a democratic success story, a trusted partner and a force for good in the world,” he added.
Such comments tend to irritate China, for whom Taiwan is an ultra-sensitive issue where there is no room for compromise. The US, like most other countries, has no diplomatic relations with the island, but is its most important international financier and arms supplier.
Beijing has intensified military and political pressure on Taiwan to crack down on possible sovereignty claims. The president promised to keep peace with China, but said the island would defend itself if attacked.
“In terms of the regional situation you are paying attention to, Taiwan will continue to intensify cooperation with the United States in order to defend our shared values ​​of freedom and democracy and to ensure peace and stability in the region,” Tsai told the US delegation .
The visit comes just days after US President Joe Biden invited Taiwan to a virtual democracy summit next month. China was left out.
The American group is made up of Takano of the Democratic Party, fellow legends Colin Allred, Sara Jacobs and Elissa Slotkin, and Republican Nancy Mace.
“When it came to our visit, my office received a scathing message from the Chinese embassy telling me to cancel the trip,” Slotkin said in a Twitter post.
Mace reported a similar request from Chinese authorities, who demanded that the trip be cancelled. “We didn’t do it,” the Republican wrote after posting a photo in which she appears beside the US Air Force jet that transported her to Taipei.
“We have just landed in the Republic of Taiwan,” he added, using the term most common among the island’s independence advocates.
China’s Foreign Ministry had described the Americans’ last visit to the island as “a lost hand,” a metaphor that refers to card games. This time, Zhao Lijian, spokesman for the ministry, condemned the visit by American deputies and considered it a violation of the principle of unity in Chinese territory.
“The fact that US political individuals are wildly challenging the principle of one China and encouraging ‘Taiwan independence’ forces has sparked the strong nomination of 1.4 billion Chinese,” said Zhao, adding that unity between Taipei and Beijing it is an “unstoppable historical trend”.
Taiwan is mentioned only once in the 15-page historic resolution after the most recent Chinese Communist Party plenary. The text reaffirms the regime’s solid position in relation to the island. “We are firmly opposed to separatist activities that seek ‘Taiwan independence’. We are firmly opposed to foreign interference,” the resolution reads.
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