Beijing may respond militarily to US strategic 'provocation': GT
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Ahead of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's expected visit to Taiwan, the Global Times newspaper warns that Beijing's response to the visit might be "not only military but also strategic."
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Flags of Taiwan, the US, and China
The Global Times warned that Beijing's response could be "not only military but also strategic" to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, which China considers part of its territory.
A Financial Times report said Pelosi will be heading a delegation that will tour East Asia, visiting Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore. They will then spend time in Hawaii at the headquarters of the US Indo-Pacific command.
China had warned against the visit in April when Pelosi was supposed to embark on her tour, saying it would have a severe impact on Sino-US relations. However, the tour was postponed due to the House speaker testing positive for Covid-19 at the time.
According to Chinese experts, such a move by the United States would be considered a "strategic level provocation," to which Beijing might respond "militarily", noting that "the US must bear all the consequence of the visit."
Read more: China reiterates warning against US backing for Taiwan
According to Liu Xiang, an expert on US studies and research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, "This is a blatant double standard. If the US House Speaker, a political leader of the United States, deliberately visits Taiwan, it would be a malicious provocation against China's sovereignty and gross interference in China's internal affairs, and would send an extremely dangerous political signal to the outside world. If the US side insists on having its own way, China will surely make a firm response and all the consequences will be borne by the US side."
The military response is definite, and Pelosi must understand that she will bear the "stain" of sparking a crisis that could be more dangerous than the 1996 Taiwan Straits Crisis, Liu noted.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday that it will ask Washington to cancel Pelosi's visit to Taiwan because it would seriously violate the one-China principle.
"China urges that US must not arrange House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit, stop official exchange with Taiwan, and stop creating tensions over the Taiwan Straits, or China will take forceful countermeasures,” the Ministry mentioned in a statement.
China warned on Tuesday that it would take "forceful measures" if the US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said any visit by Pelosi would "seriously undermine China's sovereignty and territorial integrity."
"If the US side obstinately clings to this course, China will definitely take resolute and forceful measures to firmly defend its national sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said. "The United States must be fully responsible for all the consequences caused by this."
China: Pelosi's visit to Taiwan could cross Beijing’s 'red line'
Earlier, on May 14, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned that “Beijing will interpret US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s hypothetical visit to Taiwan as a step over the red line,” according to the South China Morning Post.
"If Pelosi, a political leader of the United States, knowingly visits Taiwan, it would be a malicious provocation against China’s sovereignty and gross interference in China’s internal affairs, and would send an extremely dangerous political signal to the outside world," he said.
