China urges US against sailing naval ships through Taiwan Strait

WASHINGTON • China called on the United States to refrain from sailing naval vessels through the Taiwan Strait, saying that Beijing would take further action in the wake of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taipei.

China's ambassador to Washington, Mr Qin Gang, said on Tuesday that China viewed such transits as an escalation by the US and an effort to support the "separatist" government in Taipei.

He delivered the warning after Senator Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, wrapped up the second trip to the island in less than two weeks by a US congressional delegation.

"The US side has done too much and is going too far in this region," Mr Qin said in response to a question about potential naval patrols.

"I do call on our American colleagues to refrain, to exercise restraint, not to do anything to escalate the tension... If there are any moves damaging China's territorial integrity and sovereignty... China will respond. China will respond."

The Biden administration has said it would conduct air and maritime transits through the Taiwan Strait after China responded to Mrs Pelosi's trip with a series of military drills around the island, including reportedly firing ballistic missiles over Taiwan.

China considers Taiwan a breakaway province to be reunited with it, by force if necessary.

The US has long held that transits through the Taiwan Strait, like congressional visits, are consistent with its "one China" policy of not formally recognising the democratically elected government in Taipei.

The US Navy has conducted an average of nine trips annually through the strait over the past decade, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, far fewer than the "100 navigations" that Mr Qin said the US makes each year.

The most recent known trip came on July 19, when the USS Benfold destroyer sailed through the waterway.

Similarly, Mrs Pelosi was only the most senior of 149 members of Congress who have visited Taiwan over the past 10 years.

Mr Qin rejected White House arguments that lawmakers could act independently. He said such trips violate the agreements underpinning US-China relations.

"Congress is part of the government of the US - it is not an independent, uncontrollable branch," Mr Qin said.

"Congress is obliged to abide by the foreign policy of the United States. That is why we feel very frustrated and dissatisfied with Senator Markey's visit to Taiwan. It is provocative, it is unhelpful."

Separately, a bipartisan group of Japanese lawmakers plans to visit Taiwan next week, Kyodo News reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The Defence Ministry in Tokyo had previously said that Chinese ballistic missiles landed in what Japan considers its exclusive economic zone after Mrs Pelosi's trip.

Mr Qin defended the Chinese military's response to the trip, saying the drills were "open, transparent and professional", and that China was "handling a serious fallout from Pelosi's visit".

He warned the US not to "underestimate the strong resolve, determination and the capability of the Chinese government and the people to defend national sovereignty and territo-rial integrity".

Mr Qin also downplayed the threat of an imminent Chinese attack on Taiwan, saying he was not aware of a specific timeline.

"People are over-nervous about it," he said, adding that speculation that China had moved up the timeline for an invasion was baseless.

BLOOMBERG