Amid US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, China displayed palpable anger by announcing PLA drills, and live-fire exercises, from Thursday through Sunday, CNN reported. The People's Liberation Army said the maneuvers would take place starting Tuesday night in the waters and skies near Taiwan and include the firing of long-range ammunition in the Taiwan Strait. At the same time, Taiwan's defence ministry said that 21 Chinese warplanes entered the air defense identification zone (ADIZ)—J-16, J-11 fighter jets, and Y-8 and Y-9 electronic intelligence aircrafts made a show.
Pelosi arrived in Taiwan late Tuesday, becoming the highest-ranking American official in 25 years to visit the self-ruled island claimed by China.
Pelosi arrived aboard a US Air Force passenger jet and was greeted on the tarmac at Taipei's international airport by Taiwan's foreign minister and other Taiwanese and American officials. She posed for photos before her motorcade whisked her unseen into the parking garage of a hotel.
Her visit has ratcheted up tension between China and the United States because China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, and it views visits by foreign government officials as recognition of the island's sovereignty.
The Biden administration, and Pelosi, say the United States remains committed to its one-China policy, which recognises Beijing but allows informal relations and defense ties with Taipei.
The speaker framed the trip as part of a broader mission at a time when the world faces a choice between autocracy and democracy. Her visit comes after she led a congressional delegation to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in the spring, and it serves as a capstone to her many years of promoting democracy abroad.
"We must stand by Taiwan, she said in an opinion piece published by The Washington Post on her arrival in Taiwan. She cited the commitment that the US made to a democratic Taiwan under a 1979 law.
It is essential that America and our allies make clear that we never give in to autocrats, she wrote. Taiwan and China split during a civil war in 1949, but China claims the island as its own territory and has not ruled out using military force to take it. The Biden administration did not explicitly urge Pelosi to call off her plans. It repeatedly and publicly assured Beijing that the visit would not signal any change in US policy toward Taiwan.
