He stressed that the United States wants Taiwan to have freedom and security forever and will not back down from this position. While we respect the One China policy, our solidarity with Taiwan is more important than ever. The US supports the status quo and doesn’t want anything violent to happen to Taiwan, Pelosi added.

When asked about the economic repercussions Taiwan faced as a result of her visit, Pelosi said the US chip law opens the door to better economic exchanges between the United States and Taiwan.

Earlier, Taiwan’s defense ministry announced that China’s high schools were threatening the island’s ports and key urban areas, promising that defenses would be “strengthened” and that there would be a “strong” response.

The high schools are “an attempt to threaten our major ports and urban centers and unilaterally undermine peace and stability in the region,” the ministry said. China’s political leadership has made no secret of its anger at Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, which it considers part of its territory destined to “reunite” with the mainland, if necessary by force.

real fire

In response, Beijing announced a series of live-fire naval and air force training courses on the island.

The high schools will include launching “long-range live fire” into the Taiwan Strait that separates the island from the mainland.

In some places, Chinese operations will reach up to 20 kilometers from the coast of Taiwan, based on the coordinates announced by the People’s Liberation Army.

Faced with the risk of starting a war due to a miscalculation, Taiwanese government officials tried to appear resolute while keeping the populace cool.

“The Department of Defense is closely monitoring the situation, has stepped up preparations and will respond appropriately at a time it deems appropriate,” he said.

The military will remain in place and will protect national security. We ask the public to remain calm and support the armed forces.”

On Tuesday night, authorities announced that 21 Chinese warplanes had intruded into an air defense identification zone (or air defense zone), which, however, is much larger than Taiwan’s airspace.

Across the strait, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced economic sanctions, including the suspension of sand exports to Taiwan. It is a key raw material for the production of semiconductors, one of the island’s main exports.

For its part, Japan has expressed “concern” about Beijing’s “targeted military action” in response to Ms. Pelosi’s visit, some of which will take place in Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Tokyo has “expressed its concern” to Beijing given the “nature of hostilities” that would include “real fire,” said Hirokazu Matsuno, a Japanese government spokesman. Nancy Pelosi previously said in a speech to the Taiwanese parliament that she had “peacefully” traveled to the region as a “friend.”

“Egregious Violation”

“We came to Taiwan as friends, we came to the region in peace,” said Ms Pelosi, the most senior US official to visit the island in 25 years. He praised Taiwan for being “one of the freest countries in the world.”

The 82-year-old Speaker of the House, third in line to succeed President Joe Biden if need be, has not announced her visit to Taiwan, but it has been the subject of an intense scenario for several days and provoked a reaction from Beijing. even before it happened.

Upon Pelosi’s arrival in Taiwan, the Chinese Foreign Ministry denounced the “egregious violation” of US commitments to China, which “deals a serious blow to peace and stability in the region.”

He called US Ambassador to Beijing Nicholas Burns, and China’s Vice Foreign Minister Xie Fang expressed his country’s “strong protest” to him, saying that “Ms. Pelosi’s initiative” to go to Taiwan “is extremely shocking and the consequences will be very serious.” seriously,” China’s official news agency Xinhua reported.

The island of 23 million has been administratively independent since the end of the civil war (1949), but Beijing intends to reintegrate it into its territory and opposes any international legalization of its government.

“Don’t play with fire”

US officials frequently visit the island, and Washington is Taiwan’s largest arms supplier. But Pelosi’s visit was seen by China as a major challenge.

Last week, during a telephone conversation between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, the Chinese President warned the US against “playing with fire.”

The previous Speaker of the House of Representatives to visit Taiwan was Newt Greenwich in 1997.

Since 1979, Washington has officially recognized only one Chinese government, that is, in Beijing, although it plays the role of a protectorate of Taipei.

The US has a policy of “strategic ambiguity” avoiding being clear about whether it will militarily defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, and the White House was quick to confirm this after Biden’s recent statements seem to doubt it.

China’s ally Russia yesterday accused the US administration of “destabilizing the world” and called Pelosi’s visit a “pure provocation.”

North Korea, also an ally of China, expressed its “full support” in terms of “reckless interference” in the “internal affairs” of other states by the United States and “political and military provocations” which it believes are the root cause of the “challenge” of “peace and security in the region,” a spokesman for Pyongyang’s diplomatic mission told the official KCNA news agency.

with information from AFP, Reuters, APE-MPE