Taiwan warns of China’s ‘repeated provocations’, ahead of reported McCarthy meeting

TAIPEI - Taiwan will not allow “repeated provocations” from China, the island’s Defence Minister said on Tuesday when asked about Beijing’s possible reaction to a reported meeting between Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Ms Tsai plans to meet Mr McCarthy in the United States in the coming weeks, two sources said on Monday, a move that could replace the Republican Speaker’s anticipated but sensitive trip to the democratically governed island claimed by China.

China staged war games around Taiwan last August

after a visit to Taipei by Mr McCarthy’s predecessor, Mrs Nancy Pelosi.

Speaking to reporters in Parliament, Taiwan Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said he was not aware of a planned meeting between Ms Tsai and Mr McCarthy.

“The Chinese communists use any reason to send troops,” he said.

“But we won’t just say ‘bring it on’. We will take a peaceful and rational approach.”

Although it hopes this does not happen, Taiwan’s military is prepared to fight, he added.

“If the Chinese communists move again, the armed forces’ job is to fight,” he said. “We won’t allow repeated provocations against us. We can’t accept that.”

Taiwan’s government has not announced a presidential visit to the US. Ms Tsai has previously made stopovers on the way to countries that maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Taking lawmakers’ questions, Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said it was inappropriate to talk about foreign travel arrangements for the President “before there are definite plans”.

Mr McCarthy has also not confirmed a meeting with Ms Tsai.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said it was “absurd” for US officials to say Taiwan is not an internal affair of China’s.

“The Taiwan question is the core of the core interests of China, the bedrock of the political foundation of China-US relations and the first red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations,” he said on the sidelines of China’s annual Parliament meeting.

“The United States has unshakable responsibility for causing the Taiwan question.”

One of the sources told Reuters that should the US meeting go forward – likely in April – that does not necessarily rule out Mr McCarthy visiting Taiwan in future.

Four other sources – including US officials and people with knowledge of the US and Taiwan administrations’ thinking – said both sides were deeply uneasy that a future visit by Mr McCarthy would severely increase tensions across the Taiwan Strait at a time when the island is preparing for its presidential election in early 2024. REUTERS