The United States on Thursday urged China to choose diplomacy over military pressure, after the Chinese military mobilized warships in waters near Taiwan. a day after the island’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, called into question the sovereign principle of “one China” when meeting in California with the speaker of the US House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy.
“We continue to urge Beijing to end its military, diplomatic and economic pressure against Taiwan. and instead engage in constructive diplomacy”State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.
Ignoring warnings from Beijing, which considers Taiwan its own territory, Tsai se met yesterday in Los Angeles with Kevin McCarthy during a stopover on his return from his tour of Guatemala and Belize, two of the last allies of the autonomous island in the region.
China’s foreign ministry reacted immediately by promising “firm and effective measures to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
“The United States and Taiwan conspired” to “strengthen their relations”, which “seriously undermines Chinese sovereignty” and “sends a bad signal of support for Taiwanese separatists”said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning.
tension with Beijing
Hours before the meeting, China deployed an aircraft carrier around the island. In addition, the Taiwan Ministry of Defense announced the detection of three warships and a helicopter that crossed the island’s air defense identification zone. “The armed forces monitored the situation and tasked combat air patrols, navy ships and ground-based missile systems to respond to these activities,” Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Taiwan and China separated in 1949, at the end of the civil war. The communists seized power in mainland China while the nationalists retreated to Taiwan, but Beijing considers the island part of its territory and advocates regaining control one day. Under the principle of “one China”, a priori recognized by the United States and by most countries, including Argentina, opposes any formal relationship between the leaders of the island and those of other nations.
The spokesman for US diplomacy recognizedor “differences” between his country and China over Taiwan, but said the two powers have handled the situation for 40 years.
Patel described Tsai’s visit as a “transit” on her journey to and from Central America and considered that “There’s no reason to make it a pretext to overreact”.
In August, following a visit to Taipei by McCarthy’s predecessor, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, China responded with military maneuvers on a scale rarely seen in that region. To avoid a similar episode, McCarthy gave up traveling to Taiwan and opted for this meeting in California which, for the moment, has triggered a less intense response from China.
After meeting with McCarthy and leaders of the two US parties at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Tsai thanked for the warm reception in the United States.. “Your presence and unwavering support reaffirm to the people of Taiwan that we are not isolated and we are not alone”said.
McCarthy, second authority in the line of presidential succession and a native of California, said that the friendship between the United States and Taiwan was “vital to maintain economic freedom, peace and regional stability.”
the american friend
The United States maintains its ties with China, but is a major ally of Taiwan and its largest arms supplier. In this sense, the US legislature advocated maintaining support for the islandstressing that “to prevent war the best thing is to supply arms”.
“It is a vital lesson that we learned in Ukraine, that The mere idea of sanctions is not going to stop anyone.”he added.
This new episode of tensions occurs on the day of the arrival in Taiwan of a delegation of eight members of the US Congress to discuss trade and security. Support for the island is one of the few bipartisan consensuses in the US Congress and during Tsai’s tenure this relationship was strengthened.
In power since 2016, Tsai ends her presidential term in 2024 and his party faces opposition from rivals considered closest to Beijing.
The leader positioned herself as a defender of the status quo, a de facto independence although not openly recognized, while China presses to isolate and wrest allies from the island. In fact, After a recent diplomatic twist by Honduras, Taiwan only has 13 countries in the world that officially recognize it, so Tsai seeks to strengthen diplomatic ties in Latin America.
