WASHINGTON – A high US protection official has arrived in Taiwan on a uncommon go to, the Financial Times reported Friday, a visit sure to additional enflame Washington-Beijing tensions over the downing of an alleged Chinese spy balloon.
Deputy Assistant US Secretary of Defense for China, Michael Chase, is probably the most senior Pentagon official to go to the island since a 2019 journey by the deputy assistant secretary for East Asia, the FT stated.
Beijing, which claims Taiwan as a part of its territory and has vowed to grab it, opposes any official exchanges with the self-ruled democracy, and has reacted with anger to a flurry of journeys to the island by Western politicians in recent times.
Relations between Beijing and Washington have grown more and more tense over the balloon — which China insisted was for climate analysis, whereas the United States stated it was for surveillance, taking pictures it down earlier this month after it traversed the nation.
When requested about experiences of Chase’s journey, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman stated Beijing “firmly opposes official and military contacts between the US and Taiwan.”
At a daily press briefing Friday, Wang Wenbin urged the United States “to stop any form of official and military contacts with Taiwan, to stop meddling in the Taiwan question and to stop creating new tensions across the Taiwan Straits.”
The Pentagon didn’t verify the go to however stated its “commitment to Taiwan is rock-solid and contributes to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and within the region.”
“Our support for, and defense relationship with, Taiwan remains aligned against the current threat posed by the People’s Republic of China,” a spokesperson stated.
Taiwanese protection minister Chiu Kuo-cheng additionally declined to substantiate the journey.
Tensions spiked final 12 months after a go to by then-US House speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, with Beijing finishing up main navy workouts in response.
Pelosi’s Republican successor Kevin McCarthy has stated he can even go to Taiwan, which the United States helps by navy gross sales however doesn’t acknowledge. — Agence France-Presse
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
