Taiwan’s defense minister declared on Tuesday that the island will not tolerate “repeated provocations” from China, which has declared Taiwan to be the “first red line” in Sino-U.S. relations.
Potential impact on US-China relations
In protest of then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei, China held war drills close to Taiwan in August. According to two sources, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-Wen is scheduled to meet current House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in the United States in the coming weeks. Chiu Kuo-cheng, Taiwan’s defense minister, claimed he was unaware of a scheduled meeting between Tsai and McCarthy when speaking to the media at the legislature. The communists in China “exploit any pretext to send troops,” Chiu claimed. “”Bring it on,” we won’t say. We will act with caution and logic.”
The military of Taiwan is ready to fight, he stressed, but it hopes that this will not occur. The military must battle if the Chinese communists make another move, according to Chiu. “We won’t acknowledge the continuous coalition’s agitation. We cannot agree to that.”
The administration of Taiwan has not yet confirmed a trip to the United States for Tsai, something she has previously done as a pit stop en route to nations in Central America and the Caribbean that have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
On Tuesday, Taiwan’s foreign ministry stated that while it currently had nothing to say, it would issue a statement at a later date regarding any foreign trips the president may take. A meeting with Tsai has not yet been confirmed by McCarthy. Taiwan is not a Chinese internal matter, according to U.S. officials, which was deemed “absurd” by Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Beijing.
He stated on the margins of China’s annual parliament meeting that the Taiwan matter is the center of China’s core interests, the political cornerstone of China-U.S. ties, and the first boundary that must not be crossed. “The cause of the Taiwan question is entirely the responsibility of the United States,” according to Qin. China will continue to work towards “peaceful reunification,” but has the right to take any necessary action. Nobody should ever undervalue the Chinese government and people’s great commitment, strong desire, and enormous ability to protect national sovereignty and territorial integrity, he continued.
Although it has often offered to hold negotiations with Beijing, Taiwan’s government vigorously contests China’s territorial claims and asserts that only Taiwan’s citizens have the power to determine their future. According to officials, McCarthy visiting Taiwan in the future is not necessarily ruled out should the U.S.-China summit move forward (presumably in April).
As the island is gearing up for its own presidential election early next year, U.S. authorities and individuals who are familiar with American thought and Taiwan administrations said both sides were extremely concerned that a future visit by McCarthy would sharply escalate tensions across the Taiwan Strait.
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