US condemns China’s missile launches near Taiwan

The White House said Thursday that the missile launches near Taiwan are China’s “irresponsible” reaction to US House Speaker Nanci Pelosi’s visit to the island this week.

“Beijing’s provocative actions are a significant escalation and part of its long-standing attempt to change the balance of power (in the region),” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told a briefing.

China, which has never ruled Taiwan, views Pelosi’s visit as an unacceptable violation of what it sees as its sovereignty over the island. She is also convinced that the United States is giving more explicit support to Taiwan.

A day after Pelosi left, China’s military began four days of live-fire military exercises in seven areas surrounding the island, which authorities described as “precision missile strikes.” One of the designated areas is less than 20 kilometers from the southern coast of Taiwan.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said it had tracked Chinese missile launches from after noon on Thursday. Authorities explained in a statement that they used various surveillance systems to monitor the projectiles, which headed for waters to the northeast and southwest of the island.

Five of the ballistic missiles launched by China reportedly landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said on Thursday, adding that Tokyo was officially protesting through diplomatic channels.

With tensions rising, Kirby said the Biden administration has postponed routine testing of an Air Force ICBM known as the Minuteman III to prevent an escalation.

The rehearsal was planned for this week, but according to Kirby it will now be rescheduled for a date in the near future.

“As China conducts destabilizing military exercises around Taiwan, the United States is demonstrating what responsible behavior by a nuclear power should look like, reducing the risk of miscalculation or misunderstanding,” the spokesman explained.

In April, the US military canceled another test of the Minuteman III to reduce nuclear tensions with Russia during the invasion of Ukraine.

“We do not believe that it is in our interest or in the interest of Taiwan and the region to allow tensions to escalate further,” Kirby said Thursday.

[Con información de Reuters y AP]

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