U.S. Secretary of State Blinken on Monday condemned China’s military exercises around Taiwan as “a major escalation” and said Beijing had launched “unjustified” drills in response to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. China launched ballistic missiles, deployed fighter jets and warships around Taiwan, and declared multiple no-navigation danger zones on some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
“These provocative actions are a significant escalation,” Antony Blinken said after talks with Southeast Asian foreign ministers in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.
Blinken said this week’s standoff was Beijing’s latest attempt to change the status quo in Taiwan, which the Chinese Communist Party considers part of mainland China and can be recaptured by force if necessary.
Blinken noted that he warned Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at a recent conference in Indonesia that Nancy Pelosi might visit Taiwan. “We were expecting a move like this in mainland China, and that’s actually what we’re describing,” he said.
“The fact is that the Speaker’s visit was peaceful. There is no justification for this extreme, overreacting and escalating military response.”
Blinken also said the U.S. position on the Taiwan issue had not changed and that it would not be “provoked” by China’s actions.
Authorities in Beijing have insisted the military drills were a “necessary” response to Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
The Associated Press reported that China’s military exercises targeting Taiwan also included launching missiles into waters off Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
“Mainland China chose to overreact and used Speaker Pelosi’s visit as an excuse to increase provocative military activities in and around the Taiwan Strait,” Blinken told a news conference in Phnom Penh.
He also mentioned that the United States and Japan are firmly united after “the dangerous actions taken by the Chinese mainland.”
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