China dispatched warships to waters around Taiwan on Thursday, shortly after deploying an aircraft carrier and promising a “firm” response to the meeting between the self-governing island’s leader and the speaker of the US House of Representatives in California, the Taiwanese defense announced.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, of a party traditionally committed to the island’s independence — an absolute red line for China — hailed Washington’s “unwavering support” for Taiwan at a meeting Wednesday near Los Angeles with the spokesman of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy.
But Beijing has always threatened a reaction should such an interview take place, stationing an aircraft carrier near Taiwan hours before the meeting.
Three more warships were spotted in the strait separating China from the Democratic Autonomous Island as of 6 a.m. (2200 GMT) Thursday, Taiwan’s defense ministry said.
An anti-submarine helicopter also flew through Taiwan’s air defense zone, the ministry added.
And China has deployed Coast Guard vessels for extraordinary patrols, which Taipei has protested.
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The communist regime regards the island, which has been self-governing for more than 70 years, as one of its provinces to be reconquered and favors a “peaceful reunification”, without excluding the use of force.
In the name of the “One China” principle, no country should maintain official relations with both Beijing and Taipei at the same time.
Last August, Beijing launched unprecedented military maneuvers around Taiwan when Democrat Nancy Pelosi, Mr McCarthy’s predecessor, visited the island.
The response to the meeting with the American number three at this point in time is not comparable. However, it puts Taipei on high alert.
Taiwan’s defense minister said the deployment of Shandong, one of China’s two aircraft carriers, was “sensitive”.
“When an aircraft carrier departs, there are usually plane takeoffs and landings,” Chiu Kuo-cheng said, adding that such a maneuver has not been observed. “We will continue to monitor,” he warned the press.
When asked if the deployment was a prelude to Chinese military maneuvers, Mr. Chiu replied, “We are not ruling out the possibility.”
“Unwavering Support”
In the United States, Ms. Tsai, who was in transit after a tour of Latin America, praised the United States’ “unwavering support” for her island and asserted that the Taiwanese are neither “isolated” nor “alone”.
Only 13 states now recognize Taiwan, including Belize and Guatemala, Latin American countries Ms Tsai has visited in recent days to cement ties with her few official allies after taking a first step in New York.
For his part, in this delicate context, the Republican leader stressed that the relationship between Taipei and Washington is “stronger” than it has ever been “in (his) life.”
A few hours later, China promised “firm and effective measures to safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry compared the Tsai-McCarthy meeting on American soil to “serious misunderstandings” between the United States and Taiwan, according to a statement released Thursday morning.
Beijing also urged Washington to “stop taking a wrong and dangerous path” as French President Emmanuel Macron is on a state visit to Beijing, where he will meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday.
Under Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan drew closer to the United States.
Mr McCarthy also called for “further arms sales to Taiwan” which he said were the “best way” to prevent a Chinese invasion of the island. “It’s a key lesson we learned from Ukraine, which is that the idea of simple sanctions won’t stop anyone in the future,” he told the press.