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Taiwan’s ambassador to the Holy See has denounced China’s reaction to the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan as inflammatory. He said the Chinese response was irresponsible, juvenile and dangerous for the entire region.
Matthew Lee, Taiwan’s Ambassador to the Holy See, told Crux News that he “strongly condemns the Chinese government for following the example of North Korea in wilfully test-firing missiles into waters near other countries”.
Over the past six days, in response to Pelosi’s visit, China has been sending military aircraft and unmanned drones into areas near Taiwan and Japan’s westernmost islands.
Lee demanded that China “exercise self-restraint”.
Pelosi, the most senior US politician to visit Taiwan in 25 years, travelled to the island and met Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and other leaders in the capital city of Taipei.
Her visit, made as part of a wider tour of Asia, enraged Beijing officials who had warned her not to travel to the island.
Taiwan is self-governed. However, China sees the island as a breakaway province that will eventually be united with the mainland. The US does not formally recognise Taiwan – however it offers consistent support including the sale of weapons.
At a press conference in Tokyo during the final leg of her Asia tour, Pelosi said on Friday that China has sought to isolate Taiwan from the international community. However, that would not prevent US officials from visiting.
“We will not allow China to isolate Taiwan. They are not doing our travel schedule” she said.
In his remarks to Crux News, Lee said seven US senators and seven other representatives, including Pelosi, have visited Taiwan this year alone.
“A visit by a US house speaker is not unprecedented, and visits by foreign government officials and legislators are routine occurrences in democratic countries,” he said.
China’s allegations that the visit was a violation of their sovereignty, that it damaged the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait, and their decision to launch live-fire military exercises on these grounds was “childish,” Lee said.
He called the military exercises “a far cry from the way a civilised society should behave”. He added that inflammatory behaviour such as this “has led to the escalation of tensions in the region and concerns from across the international community”.
Sources
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