U.S. Provocations over Taiwan
Delegation of U.S. Congress Members Visits Taiwan in Latest Anti-China Provocation
A delegation of five members of the U.S. Congress visited Taiwan from August 14 to 15, in violation of the one-China principle. This is the latest use of Taiwan by the U.S. to antagonize China through the violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity. The visit of the congressional delegation comes 12 days after the visit of Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, which already brought U.S.-China relations to a new low, with China having implemented various countermeasures in response.
The U.S. delegation was led by Senator Edward J. Markey (D., Massachusetts). The Global Times points out that "Markey is a seasoned China hawk, who often chides China on human rights issues. In March 2020, he co-introduced a bipartisan resolution with Senator Rick Scott calling on the International Olympic Committee to move the 2022 Winter Olympics out of China."
While the U.S. has sought to put the blame on China for the increase in tensions following Pelosi's visit, several experts cited by the Global Times point out that the visit of this congressional delegation further proves that it is the U.S. which makes repeated provocations and keeps tensions from easing.
These experts note that China will definitely impose sanctions on the visiting U.S. Congress members as a countermeasure.
Zhang Tengjun,
deputy director of the Department for Asia-Pacific Studies at the China
Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times that
the visit of the congressional delegation "shows that the U.S. has
ignored China's stern warnings and will have to face severe punishment
due to its egregious provocations." He added that the Congress members
who made up the delegation are likely to face similar sanctions on an
individual basis, as is the case with Pelosi. However, Zhang said that
the congressional delegation's visit will not make much further damage
to bilateral ties, as the level of the delegation pales in comparison
with Pelosi, who holds the third highest position in the U.S.
government.
Another expert cited by the Global Times said of the visit by the congressional delegation, "It can be seen that the U.S. has become stuck in the mind-set of making trouble and sabotaging China-U.S. ties so as to make itself a so-called lead player in the Western Pacific region." The expert also pointed out that "This visit serves another example of the U.S. trying to get its way in global security affairs, and insists on creating crises as well as turbulence globally." The expert further added that U.S. Congress and other institutions are trying to use the Taiwan question to gain political advantage, but that this will only complicate U.S. domestic politics and "cast a great shadow on China-U.S. relations."
The Voice of Straits, a state media outlet of the People's Republic of China focusing on cross-Taiwan Strait news, said on August 14 that "according to sources from the Chinese military, the PLA [People's Liberation Army] Eastern Theater Command is likely to conduct strong and powerful military operations in the waters and airspace around the island of Taiwan as countermeasures to the latest visit to the island by U.S. lawmakers." After Pelosi left Taiwan, the PLA conducted week-long drills in the Taiwan Strait and it would later conduct regular combat readiness security patrols.
A notable response to Pelosi's visit to Taiwan has come from former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal he expressed concern that the U.S. and China are headed toward a crisis, and said that the U.S. should instead revert to its previous course. "The policy that was carried out by both parties has produced and allowed the progress of Taiwan into an autonomous democratic entity and has preserved peace between China and the U.S. for 50 years," he said, noting that "one should be very careful, therefore, in measures that seem to change the basic structure."
Pelosi's visit to Taiwan was shortly followed by Lithuanian Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Agne Vaiciukeviciute, who made a five-day visit, for which she was personally sanctioned by China on August 12, while it has suspended engagement with her ministry as well as cooperation with Lithuania on transportation.
In the recent period, China has downgraded diplomatic relations with Lithuania in response to Lithuania's insistence at violating the one-China principle. For example, in June, Lithuania's vice minister of the economy and innovation visited Taipei where she said Lithuania plans to open a representative office in Taiwan in September. Reuters reports that in January, the EU launched a challenge at the World Trade Organization (WTO) accusing China of discriminatory trade practices against Lithuania, arguing that this threatens the integrity of the bloc's single market. China responded that it has always abided by WTO rules and that its problem with Lithuania is political, not economic, in nature. Last year, Lithuania said it would allow Taiwan to open a de facto embassy in the capital Vilnius under its own name.
This article was published in
Volume 52 Number 6 - August 17, 2022
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2022/Articles/MS52061.HTM
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