We expect China’s reaction to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan to continue for an extended period, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Tuesday. He added that Beijing’s announced measures are in line with what the US administration expected.
We’ve seen a number of ads from the People’s Republic of China in the past few hours which unfortunately are in line with what we expected — Kirby said during a press conference at the White House, referring, among other things, to the military exercises announced by China on Taiwan. He also added, the United States expects this China “will continue to respond for a long time…certainly after her visit.”
The spokesman noted that America does not want a crisis in relations with China, but is ready “to do what Beijing is doing.” He added that the US forces will continue their operations in the western Pacific, as they have done so far.
read: Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan. China: They are playing with fire
He stressed that Pelosi’s visit – the first of its kind in 25 years – does not constitute any change in the US policy towards Taiwan, meaning that Washington did not support the island’s independence, but rather supported its right to self-defense.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry condemned, on Tuesday, after Pelosi’s arrival with a delegation of congressmen in Taipei, the visit, and the leadership of the eastern theater of operations of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army announced that it would take place. A series of joint naval and air maneuvers and firing exercises Xinhua reported that areas in the north, southwest and southeast of Taiwan.
Earlier, hours before Pelosi’s visit, Chinese People’s Liberation Army planes were approaching the center line in the Taiwan Strait. The Chinese side also intensified live-fire exercises and sent a naval fleet to the vicinity of Taiwan’s Lanyu Island.
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