As China fires
missiles all around Taiwan following United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s
visit to the island, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he “(hopes)
very much that Beijing will not manufacture a crisis or seek pretence to
increase its aggressive military action.” China has been conducting live-fire military
drills around Taiwan which have threatened to upend global supply chains.

China saw Nancy Pelosi,
the third-highest ranking member of the US government, visiting Taiwan as a
provocation.

A spokesperson for
the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the fundamental reason for the current
tension in the Taiwan Straits is that the US ignored China’s strong opposition
and solemn representation and facilitated US’ third-most important political figure’s
visit to Taiwan in a US military aircraft, Global Times, Chinese
state-sponsored media, reported.  

The sudden
escalation in tensions around Taiwan following Pelosi’s visit has raised
questions on the US’ perspective on the one-China policy. The one-China policy
refers to the United States’ stance of strategic ambiguity on the Taiwan
question.

Also Read | Nancy Pelosi’s flight to Taiwan becomes most tracked flight in the world: Report

Blinken, speaking at
ASEAN-US Ministerial meeting in Cambodia, said the US remains “committed to our
One China policy guided by our commitments to the Taiwan Relations Act, Three
Communiques and Six Assurances.”

“The United States
continues to have an abiding interest in peace and stability across the Taiwan
Strait. We oppose any unilateral efforts to change the status quo, especially
by force,” he said.

“I want to
emphasise: nothing has changed about our position and I hope very much that
Beijing will not manufacture a crisis or seek a pretence to increase its
aggressive military action.”

Also Read | Beijing drills around Taiwan threatens to unsettle global supply chains

Additionally,
White House spokesperson John Kirby said, “China has chosen to overreact and
use the speaker’s visit as a pretext to increase provocative military activity
in and around the Taiwan Strait.”

“One of the things
that’s troublesome about exercises like this or missile launches like this is
the risk of calculation, the risk of a mistake could actually lead to some sort
of conflict,” Kirby said.

Taiwan’s leader
Tsai Ing-wen called on China to “act with reason and exercise restraint”. She
added that while Taiwan will not escalate the conflict, it would “resolutely
defend our sovereignty, our security & our democracy.”