Beijing Reacts: China condemns Taiwanese President’s meeting with “Man #3” in US

Taiwan authorities have been monitoring Chinese military activity, including an aircraft carrier strike group about 200 nautical miles (370 km) off the island’s coastline, after President Tsai Ing-wen met with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles.

According to The Guardian, at a meeting held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Speaker McCarthy stressed the urgency of US arms supplies to Taiwan, while the Taiwanese guest praised the “strong and unique partnership” with the US.

Taiwan Defense Minister Chiu Kuocheng said on Thursday that the military islands are looking into the activities of the Chinese aircraft carrier group, led by the aircraft carrier Shandong. The island’s military chief said the group apparently participated in a training exercise and no planes were found taking off from the ship, but the timing was “sensitive.”

The carrier group was sent to the waters southeast of Taiwan’s main island on Wednesday, shortly before Tsai and McCarthy’s meeting in Los Angeles.

Japan’s Ministry of Defense confirmed that it was also monitoring a Chinese strike force, which it located 300 kilometers from Okinawa on Wednesday evening. The ministry said the Shandong was escorted by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy frigate Liuzhou and a fast combat support ship as it headed east towards the Philippine Sea.

Separately, Japan said it spotted a Chinese guided-missile destroyer on Tuesday that was passing between Taiwan and the Japanese island of Yonaguni, about 100km off Taiwan’s coast. Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense has neither confirmed nor commented on the discovery.

The Taiwan Ministry of Defense also reported three additional Chinese Navy ships and one anti-submarine helicopter operating near Taiwan for 24 hours until Thursday morning.

The island’s defense minister said the separate Taiwan Strait patrol announced by Chinese maritime authorities on Wednesday was not a military exercise, but it appears Beijing is trying to establish a “new normal” in terms of enforcing its domestic laws over the wider sea.

Beijing reacted angrily to the Taiwan leader’s meeting with McCarthy, who is second in line to the US presidency, accusing the pair of undermining China’s claims to Taiwan, pandering to “separatist” goals, and worsening Sino-US relations.

Republican McCarthy, who has become the most senior figure to meet a Taiwanese leader on American soil in decades, was joined by a bipartisan group of US politicians who expressed support for dialogue with Taiwan amid mounting tensions with China, The Guardian notes.

“We must continue arms sales to Taiwan and make sure such sales reach Taiwan in a very timely manner,” Speaker McCarthy told a press conference after the meeting, adding that he believed there was a bipartisan agreement on the issue. “Secondly, we must strengthen our economic cooperation, especially in the areas of trade and technology.”

Beijing was quick to condemn the meeting. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement that China will take “strong and effective measures to protect national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

A spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Defense urged the US to “stop its blatant interference in China’s internal affairs.”

“We strongly oppose any form of official interaction between the United States and Taiwan and any visit by a Taiwanese leader to the United States under any name or under any pretext,” the statement said.

China claims Taiwan as its own territory, but the government in Taipei strongly disputes this position. Tsai Ing-wen says the island is a sovereign state and Taiwan’s future depends on its people.

This is the second time Tsai has met with a high-ranking official in less than a year, after welcoming McCarthy’s predecessor in the U.S. House of Representatives, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, to Taipei in August. The visit, which took place in what China considers its sovereign soil, prompted a tougher response from Beijing, including days-long live-fire military exercises around Taiwan, The Guardian recalls.

So far, the reaction to the meeting in California from Beijing has been much more restrained. It is understood that McCarthy’s meeting was held on US soil and not in Taiwan, as McCarthy originally wanted, at least in part to reduce its provocativeness. On Thursday, Taiwan’s national security chief also noted that the presidents of France and the European Union are currently visiting China, and “China should practice peaceful diplomacy.”

McCarthy told President Tsai that a shared belief in democracy and freedom was “at the core” of their strong relationship. “The friendship between the people of Taiwan and America is a matter of great importance to the free world, and it is essential to maintain economic freedom, peace and regional stability,” said the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Stressing that after the meeting there was no need for China to respond, McCarthy also said he looked forward to “another such meeting in the future.”

House Republican Mike Gallagher responded to China’s objections to the meeting by saying, “If a properly elected leader of one of our most important Democratic partners can’t meet American leaders on American soil, then we’re just feeding a crocodile that will end up eating us.” .”

More than a dozen Democratic and Republican lawmakers also attended Wednesday’s meeting, highlighting the bipartisan consensus in Congress when it comes to support for Taiwan. Tsai thanked them for their “unwavering support,” which she said “assures the people of Taiwan that we are not isolated or alone.”

Since 1979, the United States has officially recognized the People’s Republic of China as the sole government of “one China”, that is, mainland China and Taiwan. But, The Guardian recalls, the US is also selling weapons to Taiwan to deter any military action by Beijing, which McCarthy says must continue. He drew an explicit comparison between Hong Kong and Taiwan, saying that when China “retracted” its promise to grant autonomy to Hong Kong within 50 years of handing over power to China, “it damaged the reputation of [Пекина] worldwide”.

Michael Swain, senior fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft think tank, warned that the meeting could accelerate the downward spiral of US-China relations. He warned that this could provoke a “demonstration of determination” from Beijing, which in itself could “push Washington to move even closer to Taiwan to demonstrate its own determination.”

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told the press that China’s attempt to “annex” Taiwan would have far-reaching consequences for “literally every country on earth.”