China announces military exercise opposite Taiwan
BEIJING: China held live-fire military drills in the Taiwan Strait on Saturday as US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi prepared to arrive in Asia.
The exercises took place off the coast of Fujian province opposite Taiwan. A warning issued by the local maritime safety agency said the drills would be conducted near Pingtan, a county about 130km from Hsinchu city across the strait in northwestern Taiwan. It was the first live-fire drill announced by the agency in at least a year.
Pelosi on Friday said she’s “very excited” about the prospect of an upcoming trip to Asia, while refusing to confirm any of her itinerary - including whether she’ll visit Taiwan. Reports that her travel would include a stop in Taiwan had sparked a furious reaction in China, which regards the self-governing island as part of its territory.
Beijing has warned there will be consequences if Pelosi visits, including a defence ministry statement that implied China might use military force in response. She was scheduled to depart on Friday, according to people familiar with her plans.
“The Chinese mainland will definitely put up a sturdy fight to the end to thwart Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, without fear of any escalation,” Hu Xijin, a hawkish commentator and former editor-inchief of the Communist Party’s Global Times newspaper, said in an editorial for the publication.
The US and Taiwan “must fully understand that the red line is a high-voltage one that they cannot step on,” he said.
President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed Taiwan at length on Thursday call. Neither side said in statements whether Pelosi’s possible Taiwan stop came up. But a person familiar with the discussion said Xi made clear to Biden how big a problem it would be for Pelosi to visit Taiwan - and Biden made clear to Xi that Pelosi makes her own decisions as speaker, and that he can’t control another government branch.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that the US has “no physical, tangible indications” that China is preparing a military response to a possible Pelosi visit to Taiwan.