China reacts to Pelosi landing in Taiwan

Beijing has “strongly condemned” the US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, made despite what it called “disregard of stern warnings” from China. In a statement issued shortly after the high-ranking US official’s plane landed on the island on Tuesday afternoon, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the country will take “measures” to protect its sovereignty.

“This is a serious violation of the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-US joint communiqués. It has a severe impact on the political foundation of China-US relations, and seriously infringes upon China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

The visit of the top official “undermines peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and sends a seriously wrong signal to the separatist forces for ‘Taiwan independence’,” the ministry added, urging Washington not to “go further down the wrong and dangerous path.”

The ministry also warned of unspecified “measures” Beijing was set to take in light of Pelosi’s visit, squarely blaming the potential consequences of it on Washington.

“China will definitely take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity in response to the U.S. Speaker’s visit. All the consequences arising therefrom must be borne by the U.S. side and the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces,” it said.

“China firmly opposes and sternly condemns this, and has made serious démarche and strong protest to the United States.”

Following days of uncertainty over her visit, Pelosi touched down on the island late on Tuesday in spite of repeated warnings from Beijing against the visit. The island nation, regarded by Beijing as an integral part of China, was not listed among the official destinations of the speaker’s Asian tour, which included Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, and Japan.

The visit, the first time in 25 years that a House speaker has traveled to the self-governed island, has prompted a sharp increase in military activities in the region. Over the weekend, China staged live-fire military drills off the coast of the southeastern province of Fujian, just across the strait between the mainland and Taiwan. Further drills in the area are set to take place this week. The US deployed into the region the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group, which is currently to the southwest of Taiwan in the waters east of the Bashi Canal, which separates the island and the Philippines.