China has announced that it will conduct additional military exercises in the region surrounding Taiwan on the same day that the president of Taiwan met with members of a new congressional delegation from the United States.
This is yet another indication that American lawmakers support the self-governing island that China claims as its own territory.
Taiwanese media showed the delegation coming for the talks; however, the specifics of the meeting were not immediately made public after it concluded.
A plane chartered by the United States government was scheduled to take the delegation away later on Monday.
The visit took place less than two weeks after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi travelled to Taiwan, which prompted days of threatening military exercises by China, including the firing of missiles over the island and into the Taiwan Strait.
The visit took place less than two weeks after Pelosi’s trip. Pelosi is the highest-ranking member of the United States government to travel to Taiwan in the last quarter of a century.
In addition, China dispatched aeroplanes and naval ships across the median of the river, which has traditionally served as a buffer between the two sides that split as a result of the civil war in 1949.
China sees formal ties between politicians from the United States and the government of the island as evidence of support for the island’s autonomy from Beijing.
The People’s Liberation Army of China said on Monday that it will be conducting further manoeuvres in the seas and skies surrounding Taiwan, according to a statement released by the Defense Ministry and its Eastern Theater Command.
According to the statement made by the ministry, the exercises are meant to serve as a “resolute response and solemn deterrent against collaboration and provocation between the United States and Taiwan.”
The preceding two weeks of menacing drills carried out by China in Taiwan forced the island nation to put its military on high alert, but the public response was mostly one of defiance and disinterest.
The chair of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee, Lo Chih-Cheng, met with the U.S. lawmakers in Taipei, Taiwan’s capital city, and stated that “their visit at this time is of great significance” because the Chinese military exercise is designed to discourage U.S. congressmen from travelling to Taiwan.
“Their visit this time proves that China cannot stop politicians from any country from visiting Taiwan, and it also conveys an important message that the American people stand with the Taiwanese people,” said Lo.
“Their visit this time proves that China cannot stop politicians from any country from visiting Taiwan.”
However, China’s recent sabre-rattling’ has highlighted the country’s threat to capture Taiwan by military force, even though China claims it intends to bring Taiwan under its authority by peaceful methods.
The earlier exercises gave the appearance of being designed as a rehearsal of a blockade or attack on Taiwan.
This would have resulted in the cancellation of commercial flights and the disruption of shipping to Taiwan’s main ports as well as cargo passing through the Taiwan Strait, which is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.
The Massachusetts Democrat Ed Markey will serve as the leader of the five-person congressional delegation that is scheduled to meet with other members from the government as well as the corporate sector.
It is anticipated that the two most important subjects of discussion will be an investment in Taiwan’s vital semiconductor industry and the reduction of tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
Other members of the delegation include a Republican representative from American Samoa named Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, a Democrat from California named John Garamendi, and a Republican from Virginia named Don Beyer. All of these individuals hail from the state of California.
Last week, a senior White House official on Asia policy stated that China had used Pelosi’s visit as a pretext to launch an intensified pressure campaign against Taiwan. This puts the peace and stability of the region as a whole, as well as the Taiwan Strait, in jeopardy.
During a call with reporters, a deputy assistant to President Joe Biden named Kurt Campbell stated that “China has overreacted,” and that the country’s activities continue to be “provocative,” “destabilising,” and “unprecedented.”
“It has sought to disregard the centerline between the P.R.C. and Taiwan, which has been respected by both sides for more than 60 years as a stabilising feature,” he said, using the acronym for the People’s Republic of China, which is China’s official name.
“It has sought to disregard the centerline between the P.R.C. and Taiwan,” he said.
China accuses the United States of fostering independence movements in Taiwan by supplying the island with military hardware and maintaining relations with Taiwanese government representatives.
The United States has made it clear that it does not support Taiwan’s bid for independence but believes that issues with China should be resolved via peaceful methods.
Since the beginning of its reign in China, the Communist Party has maintained that although it prefers a peaceful unification with China for Taiwan, it will not rule out the use of force if it becomes necessary.
The Communists took control of China in 1949 during a civil war, and the losing Nationalists fled to Taiwan at the end of the conflict. This led to the split between the two sides.
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Campbell stated on Friday that the United States would send warships and planes through the Taiwan Strait in the coming weeks.
He also stated that the United States is developing a road map for trade talks with Taiwan, which he said the United States intends to announce in the coming days. Campbell’s comments were made during a speech on Friday.
