Fallout continued from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan on Friday, as China announced it was breaking off dialogue with the United States over military talks and climate change.
China’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that working meetings with the US Defense Ministry and the China-US Maritime Military Security Consultation Mechanism were canceled as a result of Pelosis’ visit.
The department also said it would no longer work with the US on talks on climate change, drug control, returning illegal immigrants, criminal investigations and fighting cross-border crime.
These have been seen as the remaining guard rails for a strained US-China relationship, but Beijing has long said the only guard rail that matters is the “one China principle” – that the US has the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal government recognizing China only recognizes the Chinese position that Taiwan is part of China.
The action raises questions about the potential impact on global climate benchmarks, given that China and the US are the world’s biggest polluters. Just last year, the US and China jointly pledged to take “enhanced climate action” to meet the goals of the 2015 Paris climate agreement to limit warming to below 2 degrees Celsius.
The White House overnight “subpoenaed” China’s Ambassador Qin Gang over China’s provocative actions, spokesman John Kirby said in a statement, making it clear that the actions “are of concern to Taiwan, to us, and to our partners around the world.” “.
Kirby also reiterated US commitment to the One China policy, as did Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Later on Friday, the White House spokesman specifically addressed China’s halt to climate talks, calling the decision “fundamentally irresponsible.”
“China is not only punishing the United States with these actions, they are actually punishing the whole world,” he said. “The world’s largest emitter is now refusing to take decisive steps necessary to address the climate crisis that is truly affecting our partners, from rising sea levels in the Pacific Islands to fires across Europe.”
Kirby also downplayed China’s decision to halt military engagements, saying Beijing “regularly engages in these types of engagements to signal its displeasure with the United States.”
Pelosi and members of a congressional delegation arrived in Taiwan Tuesday despite warnings from mainland China. Pelosi, the top American official to visit Taiwan in decades, said the trip — which also includes stops in Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia — is about “promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”
Spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi addresses a news conference with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen at the President’s Office in Taipei, Taiwan, Aug. 3, 2022.
Office of the President of Taiwan via Portal
In response, China has also stepped up military drills and imposed new trade restrictions on Taiwan.
Kirby confirmed Thursday that China has launched an estimated 11 ballistic missiles into Taiwan, hitting areas in the island’s northeast, east and southeast.
“We condemn these actions, which are irresponsible and contrary to our long-standing goal of upholding peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits and the region,” Kirby said.
The US expects these actions to continue in the coming days, Kirby said, noting that the US is “prepared” for whatever Beijing decides.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry released new figures on Friday showing that China has deployed 68 warplanes and 13 warships in the areas and waters around Taiwan. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-Wen said the nation remains on high alert.
Kirby said Thursday the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and its strike force would remain in the “general area to monitor the situation” and “conduct standard air and sea transits across the Taiwan Strait over the next few weeks.”
Blinken called China’s response Friday a “serious overreaction.”
“The fact is that the speaker’s visit was peaceful,” the foreign minister said between sessions at the ongoing Association of Southeast Asian Nations conference in Cambodia. “There is no justification for this extreme, disproportionate and escalating military response.”
A Chinese J-11 military fighter jet flies over the Taiwan Strait near Pingtan, the closest mainland of China to the island of Taiwan, in Pingtan, southeast China’s Fujian Province, Aug. 5, 2022.
Ng Han Guan/AP
Pelosi himself commented on China’s reaction to the trip during a press conference Friday along with the rest of the congressional delegation, saying Beijing will “probably use our visit as a pretext” for their missile strikes.
“Our friendship with Taiwan is strong,” she said. “It’s bipartisan in the House and Senate, overwhelming support for peace and the status quo in Taiwan.”
Congressional Republicans this week welcomed Pelosi’s trip, with more than half of the GOP Senate faction signing a statement supporting their decision to go to Taiwan.
Pelosi has also been sanctioned by China, meaning neither she nor her family can visit mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau.
When asked Friday whether Pelosi bore any blame for the rupture in US-China relations, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Pelosi had “the right” to go to Taiwan.
“There was no reason for this escalation that we see from China,” said Jean-Pierre.
– ABC News’ Molly Nagle, Lauren Minore, Joe Simonette and Ben Gittleson contributed to this report.