Latest twist in Taiwan spat sees top China envoy and White House clash over Pelosi visit aftermath
- Exchange of strong statements in Washington follows summoning of Ambassador Qin Gang to condemn Beijing’s ‘overreaction’ to Nancy Pelosi’s visit
- Chinese embassy counters that US is the ‘troublemaker’ making ‘unreasonable accusations’ in dispute centred on fate of self-ruled island
The strong statements reveal that the rancour and unease centred on the Taiwan Strait have seeped thousands of miles away into the halls of power in Washington.
The two superpowers sharply disagree over just about every detail of the events of this week – not only blaming each other for triggering the hostility felt across the region, but even asserting contradictory claims about whether China’s neighbours side with Beijing or Washington.
“We wanted to make sure that he knew how much the international community was also opposed to this,” Kirby said.
Jing Quan, a minister at the embassy, said during a separate briefing on Friday that “Ambassador Qin Gang sternly rejected the unreasonable accusations of the US side on Chinese military countermeasures when meeting with the officials of the White House National Security Council”.
As part of the exercises, China fired multiple conventional missiles, with some flying directly over the island. The Japanese government said five missiles fell within its exclusive economic zone.
On Friday, Kirby said it was Beijing’s military drills and “overreaction” that had escalated tensions in the strait.
“Over 160 countries and international organizations, including Asean countries and other regional countries, have criticised Pelosi’s visit,” said Jing.
Chinese foreign minister walks out of Asean events amid Taiwan row
Meanwhile, Kirby said many US allies and partners in the region were “expressing their concerns over what China is doing, and making it clear that, like us, they don’t find this acceptable behaviour”.
A joint statement by Asean on Thursday said the organisation was “concerned with the international and regional volatility” because it could “destabilise the region and eventually could lead to miscalculation, serious confrontation, open conflicts and unpredictable consequences among major powers”.
Pelosi is second in line to the US presidency and the most senior American politician to visit Taiwan since 1997.
Beijing regards Tsai’s administration as advocating for Taiwan’s independence. Beijing sees Taiwan, a self-ruled island, as a renegade province and has not ruled out the use of force to bring it under its control.
Kirby said the White House wanted to make sure Qin understood “clearly and without doubt” that nothing had changed in the “one-China policy” – a term for Washington’s official relationship with Beijing and its unofficial relationship with Taipei.
But Jing said the US should “act immediately to rectify its mistakes and eliminate the grave impact of Pelosi’s visit”.
China scraps range of US interactions after sanctions on Pelosi and family
“It should not take escalating actions and make further mistakes,” he added.
Jing did not specify what measures would be considered an escalation, nor did he indicate what China expected the US to do next.
“There’s nothing here for the United States to rectify,” Kirby said.
Kirby added that the meeting with Qin at the White House was an important line of communication between the two rival superpowers at a tense moment.
“We want to be able to keep that channel open,” Kirby said. “But did we come out of that meeting with some sort of framework by the Chinese side to de-escalate and to stop or end the tension that they have caused? I wouldn’t go that far.”