Pelosi in Taiwan: China, US allies divided over visit

While US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan has drawn bipartisan support at home, it has divided the allies of China, which considers Taipei as part of its territory, and the US.

Pelosi landed in Taipei on Tuesday night disregarding China's stern warnings. She is the highest-ranking US official to visit Taiwan in 25 years. After Pelosi's arrival in Taiwan, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a strong statement, saying that her visit is a "serious violation of the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-US joint communiques".

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, whose country's ties with China have nosedived in recent years, declined to comment specifically Wednesday on Pelosi's visit. However, he noted: “We live in an era where (there is) strategic competition and increased tension in our region and where China has taken a more aggressive posture in the region." “But our position on Taiwan is clear," he added. “We don't want to see any unilateral change to the status quo and we'll continue to work with partners to promote peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”

Hirokazu Matsuno, the Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, a country which is closer to the US and considers China a threat in the Indo-Pacific region, also avoided commenting on Pelosi's Taiwan visit, but raised concern about China's planned live-fire military exercises in the regional seas that encompass parts of Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone. Matsuno said Japan has conveyed Tokyo's “concerns” to Beijing about the exercise.

“The peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait is important not only for Japan's national security but also for the international community, and Japan's position is that we expect peaceful solution of the issues surrounding Taiwan through dialogue,” Matsuno said.

Meanwhile, Chinese ally, North Korea, used the visit to accuse the US of being “the root cause of harassed peace and security in the region,” and said it supported Beijing in the confrontation surrounding Pelosi's visit.
“We vehemently denounce any external force's interference in the issue of Taiwan, and fully support the Chinese government's just stand to resolutely defend the sovereignty of the country and territorial integrity,” a government spokesperson was quoted as saying.

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Lending its support to its all-weather ally China, Pakistan on Wednesday said Pelosi's visit to Taiwan will have "serious implications" for regional peace and stability. The Foreign Office said Pakistan "is deeply concerned over the evolving situation in the Taiwan Strait,"

Pakistan also reaffirmed its “strong commitment to the ‘One-China’ Policy” and firmly supported China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Russia — another Chinese ally and whose invasion of Ukraine has fueled concerns over China's own threat to annex Taiwan by force — called the visit a “clear provocation, which is in line with the United States' aggressive policy aimed at comprehensively containing China”. Beijing “has the right to take measures to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity in relation to the Taiwan issue," the government said in a statement.

China and Russia have closely aligned their foreign policies in recent years, with Moscow backing China over Taiwan and Beijing refusing to criticise Russia for invading Ukraine, while accusing the US and NATO of provoking the conflict and levelling punishing economic sanctions against Russia.

Pelosi has made criticism of China and support for Taiwan a key focus in her more than three decades in Congress.

In remarks at a meeting with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday, she said, “Today the world faces a choice between democracy and autocracy.” “America's determination to preserve democracy, here in Taiwan and around the world, remains ironclad,” Pelosi said.

After Taiwan, she is due to visit South Korea and Japan, both major US security partners in Asia.

With AP inputs.

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