Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te discussed “China’s military threats” against the island in a conversation with former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday, sparking a fresh barrage of criticism from Beijing.
Pelosi’s long-standing support for Taiwan has infuriated China, which responded to her visit to Taipei in 2022 with large-scale military exercises around the island. Lai and Pelosi discussed “China’s military threats against Taiwan,” presidential spokeswoman Karen Kuo told reporters, describing the 20-minute conversation between the “long-time friends” as “warm and friendly.”
China, which insists the island is part of its territory, opposes any international recognition of Taiwan and its claim to be a sovereign state. Beijing particularly disapproves of official contacts between the island and the US, which is Taiwan’s most important supporter and biggest arms supplier.
China is already angered by increased US arms sales to the island and by Lai’s stopover in Hawaii, where he was greeted with red carpets, garlands of flowers and “aloha.”
In response to Lai’s conversation with Pelosi, China called on the US to “stop interfering in Taiwan’s affairs” and stop “supporting and indulging separatist forces fighting for Taiwan’s independence.” Foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters in Beijing:
“The Taiwan issue is the core of China’s core interests and the first red line that should not be crossed in China-US relations.”
Since arriving in Hawaii on Saturday at the start of his Pacific tour, Lai has met with state Governor Josh Green, members of the US Congress, officials from the de facto US embassy in Taiwan and others.
In his first public appearance of the trip, Lai said Saturday that we must “fight together to prevent war,” warning that there are “no winners” in the conflict.
US-Taiwan F-16 deal
On the eve of Lai’s weeklong Pacific tour, the US approved a proposal to sell F-16 aircraft spare parts and radar systems, as well as communications equipment, to Taiwan in deals totalling $385 million.
Over the weekend, China’s foreign ministry called on the United States to “immediately stop arming Taiwan.” The ministry said in a statement:
“China will take resolute countermeasures to firmly safeguard national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.”
In a separate statement, the foreign ministry said China “strongly condemns” the United States for stopping Lai and that it had “expressed serious protest to the United States.”
