US President Joe Biden defended House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, saying that China's response is in line with expectations, while Beijing summoned the US ambassador to protest, coinciding with the Chinese army conducting military exercises near Taiwan.

The Taiwan News Agency said Pelosi will visit Taiwan's parliament and meet its president on Wednesday, and she will also meet Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen before leaving Taipei in the afternoon.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that President Biden respects Pelosi's decision, considering that there is no reason for China to take Pelosi's legitimate visit to Taiwan as an excuse to escalate tensions or create some kind of crisis or conflict, as he put it.

Kirby added, in a press statement, that Beijing's response was "unfortunately in line with what we expected."

He stressed that the House Speaker's visit is "completely in line" with his country's long-term policy of recognizing one China.

In a related context, the White House said in a statement that US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan discussed with the Secretary-General of the Japanese National Security Secretariat the alliance between Washington and Tokyo as the pillar of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region, according to the statement.

The White House said the two sides stressed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and the two countries' determination to stand united against Russia's war on Ukraine.

The parties also recognized the importance of making progress in bilateral and regional coordination to strengthen the rules-based economic order, including creating more resilient supply chains and enhancing energy security.

Pelosi's position

Pelosi had said, in an opinion piece published in the Washington Post, that her discussions in Taiwan would focus on reaffirming Washington's support for the island and promoting common interests.

Pelosi added that the congressional delegation's visit should be seen as an unequivocal statement that her country stands with democracy.

She stressed that the United States continues to oppose unilateral efforts to change the status quo, stressing that this visit does not contradict in any way with the one-China policy.


protest and threat

On the other hand, the Chinese Foreign Ministry summoned the US ambassador to Beijing, Nicholas Burns, on Tuesday evening, and lodged a protest with him over the "unannounced visit by Pelosi to Taiwan", which Beijing considered a "dissident province."

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Shi Feng told Ambassador Burns that Pelosi's visit was "extremely evil, with very serious consequences," an "immoral move", as well as a "serious provocation and violation of the one-China principle."

Xi considered that the Biden administration should have prevented that visit, but instead "colluded" with it, exacerbating tension in the Taiwan Strait and causing severe damage to Sino-US relations, as he described it.

The Chinese diplomat added that the United States must pay the price for its mistake, vowing that his country will not stand idly by, and that it will take necessary and decisive countermeasures, as he put it.


Military exercises and parade

In response to Pelosi's visit, the Chinese Defense Ministry announced that it would start a "series of specific military operations" in the vicinity of Taiwan, starting from Thursday until next Sunday.

The ministry said in a statement that China's military is in a state of combat readiness and will carry out a number of military activities in response to Pelosi's visit.

The Chinese army conducted military exercises near the Taiwan Strait, where it demonstrated some of its military capabilities and mechanisms in the southern Fujian Province overlooking the Taiwan Strait.

In another escalation, Taiwan's Defense Ministry announced that 21 Chinese army planes entered the southwest of the Addis region, an area different from Taiwan's territorial airspace but including an area that overlaps with part of China's "air defense identification zone" and even some parts Main land.

The Taiwan Defense Ministry also denied on Twitter that any Chinese planes had flown over the Taiwan Strait before Pelosi's arrival on the island, considering this news "false."

The Taipei Agriculture Council also announced on Tuesday that China had suspended the import of some Taiwanese products, including fish products, tea and honey, and that Beijing justified its move by talking about regulatory violations.

And early in the morning on Wednesday, Reuters quoted the Chinese Ministry of Commerce that the export of natural sand to Taiwan has been suspended as of today.

Taipei witnessed protests on opposite sides, with some protesters holding banners welcoming Pelosi's visit and calling for Taiwan's secession from China, while others raised banners denouncing the visit, considering it a provocation that could lead to war.

Protesters in Taipei against Pelosi's visit (Getty)

Russia and North Korea

Among international positions, Russia considered that Pelosi's visit would constitute a "pure provocation", and stressed its absolute solidarity with China.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that everything related to the issue of the US official's visit to Taiwan will exacerbate the situation in the region and raise tensions.

The Russian Foreign Ministry also said in a statement that China has the right to take measures to protect its sovereignty.

As for North Korea, its Foreign Ministry said that the visit "raises grave concern to the international community," declaring its support for China's strong protest against the visit.

"The current situation clearly shows that the brazen interference of the United States in the internal affairs of other countries and its deliberate political and military provocations are in fact the root cause of disturbing peace and security in the region," the ministry said.


"Beijing should not decide who can visit Taiwan or how the United States should interact with Taiwan," Wang Tingyu, a lawmaker from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party in Taiwan, was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse. ".

For many years, Taipei was considered the official representative of China, until the United Nations transferred its recognition to Beijing in 1971 and other countries and international organizations followed suit.

The island of Taiwan uses its own flag and currency, and it is self-governing, but the United Nations does not recognize it as an independent state, and the United States recognizes China's authority over it, but Beijing threatens to use force if Taipei declares independence or there is an external military intervention in its favour.