The United States has urged China not to overreact to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan after China sent fighter jets and fired missiles near Taiwan, some of which Japan said appeared to fall into its economic zone.

“We are monitoring the situation closely. We continue to ask the Chinese not to overdo it,” US national security spokesman John Kirby told MSNBC. “There is no need to react the way they did or escalate.”

Kirby urged China to de-escalate, as Washington is doing, saying, “We are not beating the drum of war. You have to de-escalate and overcome it so that the status quo is not unilaterally or forcibly altered.”

going crazy beijing

China’s military fired missiles that Japan’s Defense Ministry said could fly over Taiwan and land in Japan’s exclusive economic zone for the first time on the first day of military exercises launched by Beijing in response to a visit by the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States. United States. , Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi on the island.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi urged China to “immediately end” the military exercises it has been carrying out in six maritime zones around Taiwan along busy trade routes, some twenty kilometers off the coast of Taiwan.

For their part, foreign ministers from 10 ASEAN countries warned against “any provocative action”. The joint statement said the situation could worsen and lead to “dangerous clashes and open conflicts between great powers and unintended consequences”.

japanese protest

On Thursday, Japan’s Defense Ministry said four of China’s five ballistic missiles had allegedly flown over “the island of Taiwan”. Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi called the incident “a serious issue affecting Japan’s national security and the security of its citizens” and said his country “protested China through diplomatic channels”.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken stressed that, in recent days, Washington has been appealing to Beijing for calm “at all levels of government”. “I really hope Beijing does not provoke a crisis and does not look for an excuse to increase hostile military operations,” the US Secretary of State told colleagues at the ASEAN summit.

For his part, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who also attended the summit, accused Washington of provoking the crisis, accusing it of a “gross provocation” that set a “shameful precedent”.

During the summit, the Chinese minister asked: “Will the principle of non-interference in internal affairs be maintained if measures are not taken to correct the situation? Is it possible to respect international law? How to maintain peace in the region?

Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense announced at a briefing on Chinese military exercises that 22 Chinese warplanes briefly invaded Taiwan’s air defense zone on Thursday. The Defense Ministry said on its website that air defense systems were tracking the Chinese plane and messages were being transmitted by radio.

Firing and exploding projectiles

On the Chinese island of Pingtan, which is close to the drilling site, AFP correspondents saw several small projectiles fired near military installations on Thursday afternoon flying into the sky, leaving behind white smoke and loud explosions. Chinese military exercises are scheduled for Sunday afternoon.

“If Taiwanese forces deliberately collide (with the Chinese military) and accidentally fire a bullet, (the Chinese military) will retaliate strongly and the Taiwanese side will bear all the consequences,” a Chinese military source told AFP on condition of anonymity. Beijing emphasizes that these exercises are a “necessary and legitimate step” after Pelosi’s visit.

“Our countermeasures are justified against vicious provocations that seriously violate China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters.

The official Xinhua news agency reported that the exercises are aimed at simulating a “siege” of the island, including “attacking naval targets, hitting ground targets and controlling airspace”.

renewed tension

The possibility of an invasion of Taiwan, which is home to 23 million people, is unlikely, but it has gained traction since the election of current president Tsai Ing-wen in 2016. Unlike previous governments, Tsai refuses to acknowledge that the island does part of the continent. “A Chinese”.

Foreign officials and parliamentarians have visited the island in recent years, angering Beijing. However, experts assured AFP that China does not want to make the current situation worse.

Titus Chen, a professor of political science at Taiwan’s Sun Yat-sen National University, said an “accidental war” triggered by the accident was “the last thing Xi Jinping wants” ahead of the CCP congress.

cyber attacks

To avoid a further escalation of tensions with Beijing, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing US officials, that the United States has delayed a routine test launch of the Air Force’s Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile. The report says that one of the officials said the delay could be extended by ten days.

China, which has repeatedly said it reserves the right to retake Taiwan by force, says its dispute with the island is an internal matter. Taiwan said official websites including those of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the president’s office had been attacked by hackers and warned of future “psychological warfare”.

Comrade Pelosi

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan “reckless, irresponsible and completely irrational,” state broadcaster CCTV said, citing Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Speaking at a meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers in Cambodia, Wang added that China is trying to avert the crisis through diplomatic means but will never allow it to harm its core interests.

“I think (Pelosi’s visit) is good,” said one Beijing native, “it gives us a chance to visit Taiwan and use this opportunity to take control by force. I think we should thank comrade Pelos.”

Pelosi, the highest US official to visit Taiwan in 25 years, praised the island’s democracy and pledged solidarity with it. He said China’s anger will not stop world leaders from visiting Taiwan.

The United States does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but is required by US law to provide the island with the means to defend itself. Taiwan rejects China’s claims to sovereignty and says only its people should decide their country’s fate.