China and the US are set to be embroiled in a new round of tension with Beijing on Wednesday warning of “resolute countermeasures” if Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen meets US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during her planned transit of the US early April.
The meeting between Tsai and McCarthy will be a provocation, the Taiwan Affairs of the State Council (China’s cabinet), said on Wednesday, warning Washington, and saying it will give impetus to “Taiwan separatists”.
The remarks were in response to reports, which said Tsai planned stopovers in the US on her way to the Central American countries of Belize and Guatemala and is expected to meet McCarthy in California while returning.
China has lately piled up diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy that it claims as a breakaway region to be merged by force if necessary.
Just days ago, China poached the Central American country of Honduras from among Taiwan’s handful of formal allies leaving Taipei with only 13 countries that recognise it as a sovereign state.
China’s PLA has also frequently dispatched fighter jets around the island and held big wargames. .
“China firmly opposes Tsai Ing-wen’s planned ‘transit’ visit to the US to meet US officials and will take resolute countermeasures in such an event,” Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office told a press conference on Wednesday.
“If Tsai contacts McCarthy, it will be another provocation that seriously violates the one-China principle and undermines China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” Zhu was quoted as saying by Chinese official media, CGTN.
Zhu indicated that Tsai was deliberately pushing separatism, saying the “transit” by the Taiwan leader is essentially a provocative act of “relying on the US to seek independence.”
Zhu urged Washington to strictly abide by the “one-China principle” and the “three China-U.S. joint communiques”, and take concrete actions to fulfill the solemn commitment of not supporting “Taiwan independence”, the spokesperson said.
China had issued strong statements against Washington and Taipei when Tsai transited six times through the US between 2016 and 2019.
Given how, China responded when former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan last year — with the the largest military drill around the island ever — the planned meeting between Tsai and McCarthy has triggered fears of another round of heavy-handed Chinese response.
China and the US are already locked in several disputes and differences including Washington’s support for Taiwan besides trade and human rights issues.
Tsai’s visit also coincides with the ongoing visit of former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou who is currently on a 12-day visit of the mainland, the first time a former Taiwanese leader has visited China in seven decades.
