Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen described the Chinese military maneuvers around the island as an “irresponsible act” that fuels tensions in the Indo-Pacific, demanded restraint from Beijing and asked for the support of the international community.
(Also read: China initiates intimidation tactics against Taiwan and warns of escalation)
In a video message released by the presidential office, the first since this crisis began on behalf of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei on Wednesday, Tsai said that Taiwan will not contribute to the escalation of tensions but will defend its sovereignty.
For the Taiwanese leader, the launch of eleven ballistic missiles that China carried out yesterday in the Taiwan Strait is an “irresponsible act” due to the proximity of numerous international air and sea routes.
Tsai assured that her government is working to ensure the security of operations in the island’s ports and airports, as well as the stability of the financial markets, and asked the population to remain alert to possible cyberattacks and the dissemination of false information by from China.
(You may be interested: “Those who offend China must be punished,” says Foreign Minister Wang Yi)
In addition, the president urged the international community to support Taiwanese democracy and jointly confront Beijing’s military response, which she described as “unilateral and irrational.”
In her four-minute speech, Tsai stressed that Taiwan seeks to work with regional countries and international democratic allies to “maintain peace” in the Indo-Pacific region.
He also thanked the G7, which includes the seven most developed economies in the world, for its warning to China to avoid the use of force in Taiwan.
For her part, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy
Pelosi, said Friday in Tokyo that his country “will not allow” China to isolate Taiwan.
(Keep reading: China imposes new sanctions against Taiwan after Pelosi’s arrival on the island)
“They can try to prevent Taiwan from visiting or participating in other places, but they will not isolate Taiwan by preventing us from traveling there,” Pelosi said.
He also clarified that his visit to Taipei this week “is not to change the status quo here in Asia, to change the status quo in Taiwan.”
They will not isolate Taiwan by preventing us from traveling there
And it is that less than 24 hours after Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, considered by China a provocation, the Asian giant’s Army began military maneuvers with live fire that caused the closure of maritime and air space in six areas around the island, one of them about 20 kilometers from the coast of Kaohsiung, the main city in southern Taiwan.
The exercises, which begin their second day on Friday, will last until Sunday, according to Chinese state media.
(You may be interested: Nancy Pelosi affirms that she arrived in Taiwan in ‘peace for the region’)
During the last three days, Taipei has also reported incursions by Chinese military aircraft into its self-defined Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), some of which would have crossed the middle line of the Strait.
The Chinese maneuvers have caused numerous delays and cancellations in both air and sea routes that pass through the area.
*With information from AFP and Efe
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