08.04.2023
Washington said it is monitoring the movement of Chinese forces and assured that it will fulfill its security commitments in Asia, for which it has the necessary “capabilities”.
The United States asked China this Saturday (04.08.2023) to exercise “restraint” in its military exercises around taiwan, stressing that Washington is ready to honor its commitments in Asia. Likewise, he warned that he has the necessary “capacities” to guarantee the security of the island.
A State Department spokesman said they are “monitoring” the maneuvers deployed by Beijing in response to the meeting last wednesday between the Taiwanese president, Tsai Ing-wen, and the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy. The spokesman insisted that Tsai’s visit to the United States was a “stopover” and that there is no reason for Beijing to “overreact.”
“Our communication channels with the People’s Republic of China remain open and we have always called for restraint and not to change the status quo,” the spokesman added. “We are confident that we have sufficient resources and capabilities in the region to guarantee peace and stability and meet our national security commitments,” he added.
“Serious warning”
Washington has made commitments to defend its close allies in the region, particularly Japan, whose waters were affected when China last held military exercises around Taiwan in August. Despite plentiful arms sales to Taipei, Washington has always been reluctant to answer whether it would defend the island militarily in the event of a Chinese attack.
The Chinese military defined the maneuvers as “a serious warning” once morest “the provocation of the separatist forces” and a “necessary action to protect the national sovereignty and territorial integrity” of China. The exercises, announced by the Chinese Army this Saturday, included the deployment of “rockets, conventional missiles, ships and planes,” the state CCTV channel reported.
McCarthy, for his part, defended his choice to meet with Tsai Ing-wen: “I am the president of the chamber. There is no place where China tells me where I can go or who I can talk to,” he wrote on Twitter.
DZC (EFE, AFP)
