Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - Nancy Pelosi , speaker of the US House of Representatives, lauded Taiwan on Friday, vowed US support, an...
 |
| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the US House of Representatives, lauded Taiwan on Friday, vowed US support, and claimed her journey through Asia, which sparked extraordinary military exercises by a furious China, was never about upending the regional balance of power.
Pelosi and a congressional delegation were in Japan for the final leg of a trip through Asia that also included a quick and unannounced stop in Taiwan, a self-governing island that Beijing claims as its own. This angered Beijing, which held live-fire drills in the waters surrounding Taiwan, with five missiles landing in Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Her visit to Taiwan was the highest-level one by a U.S. official in 25 years, and it occurred at a time when Tokyo, one of Washington's closest allies, has grown increasingly concerned about China's rising power in the Indo-Pacific region and the potential for Beijing to use military force against Taiwan.
After meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, she said at a news conference, "We have said from the start that our representation here is not about upsetting the status quo in Taiwan or the region.
She continued, "The Chinese government is not happy that our bond with Taiwan is robust.
The overwhelming support for peace and the status quo in Taiwan is bipartisan in the House and the Senate.
China has denounced Pelosi's tour, which included stops in Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and South Korea.
The military drills, which started on Thursday, the day after Pelosi departed Taiwan, and are scheduled to end on Sunday, according to China's state media, will be the biggest ever held in the Taiwan Strait. Live fire has been used during the drills in the surrounding airspace and on the lake.
In its exclusive economic zone, Japan said that five of nine missiles that were launched against its territory landed (EEZ). Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi described the incident as "unusual," prompting Tokyo to register a diplomatic protest.
Pelosi praised Taiwan's democracy, economic achievements, and - in a subtle jab at China - its record on human rights, saying that Taiwan was the first Asian country to permit same-sex marriage and has supported LGBTQ rights.
I keep saying it, but the fact is that if we don't speak up for human rights in China due to business concerns, we lose all moral standing to do so everywhere in the world, she said.
"Contradictions exist in China; while there has been some improvement in the lives of the populace, terrible things are occurring to the Uyghurs. It has even been classified as a genocide."
Human rights organisations charge Beijing with mistreating the Uyghur ethnic group in Xinjiang; China denies the charges.
Gregory Meeks, the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was even more direct.
They definitely don't want us to talk about what's going on with the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, he continued.
"For human rights, human decency, and the democratic process, we're going to speak up. That was the main purpose of the excursion."
ALLY CONCERNED, MAINTAINING PEACE
Prior to their meeting, Pelosi and Kishida agreed to cooperate in order to preserve peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, a crucial shipping route, a sentiment shared by U.S. envoy Rahm Emanuel.
In a statement, he added, "It is evident that the U.S.-Japan Alliance will stand strong, shoulder to shoulder, to protect our interests and our values."
Japan has issued a warning that Chinese intimidation of Taiwan poses an increasing threat to national security because its southernmost islands are closer to Taiwan than Tokyo.
On Thursday, tensions between Japan and China increased further when China announced that a meeting between their foreign ministers that had been scheduled to coincide with an ASEAN summit in Cambodia had been cancelled. China said this because it disagreed with a G7 statement urging Beijing to resolve the Taiwan dispute peacefully.
According to Friday's announcement from the foreign ministry, China summoned Japan's ambassador to Beijing to make strong complaints regarding its involvement in the "erroneous" G7 declaration.
U.S. President Joe Biden indicated he would be willing to use force to defend Taiwan when visiting Japan in May. This remark seemed to push the boundaries of the U.S. policy of "strategic ambiguity" towards the island.
The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Kishida's party in power, has likewise promised to double military spending to 2 percent of GDP.
