Taipei announced that 27 Chinese warplanes entered Taiwan's air defense space on Wednesday, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was making her controversial visit to the self-ruled island that Beijing considers part of its territory.

The Taiwan Defense Ministry said in a tweet that "27 aircraft of the People's Liberation Army entered the area around (Republic of China) on August 3, 2022," referring to Taiwan.

Taiwan's Defense Ministry also said that it hastened the launch of fighter jets to keep out the Chinese planes.

In a diplomatic reaction, the Chinese Foreign Ministry handed over the US ambassador to Beijing a formal protest against Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.

In the same context, the foreign ministers of the Group of Seven countries said Wednesday that there is "no justification" for China to use Pelosi's visit as a "pretext" to conduct military exercises.

The ministers of the United States, Japan, France, Italy, Germany, Canada and the United Kingdom added - in a statement - that "it is normal for our countries' representatives to pay international visits. (China's) escalatory response would increase tension and destabilize the region."


Pelosi is leaving

For its part, Pelosi said - on Wednesday - that China cannot prevent world leaders from traveling to Taiwan.

"Unfortunately, Taiwan was prevented from participating in global meetings, the most recent of which was the World Health Organization, due to the objections of the Chinese Communist Party," she said in a statement after concluding her visit to Taiwan, which Beijing had previously objected to and preempted with warnings.

"Although they can prevent Taiwan from sending its leaders to global forums, they cannot prevent world leaders or anyone from traveling to Taiwan to praise its thriving democracy, highlight its many successes, and affirm our commitment to continuing to cooperate with it," she added.

US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi left Taiwan after a visit in which she met with President Tsai Ing-wen and a number of senior officials in Taipei.

Pelosi said she and the Taiwan president discussed deepening the two countries' economic and security ties, and defending common democratic values.

And she added - in tweets on Twitter - that the United States remains steadfast in its commitment to the people of Taiwan, and for decades to come.

Pelosi also met with Taiwan Parliament Speaker Chi Chang at Parliament House in the Taiwanese capital.


"playing with fire"

In the same context, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that Pelosi's visit to Taiwan is not about democracy, but rather targeting Chinese sovereignty and territorial integrity.

It added that the maneuvers in the vicinity of Taiwan are legitimate, and navigation in the Taiwan Strait was not affected by them.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi also said that the US House Speaker's visit to what he called China's Taiwan region was a "complete farce."

In a statement during the ASEAN foreign ministers meeting in Cambodia, the Chinese minister added that those who play with fire will perish with it, and those who harm China will be punished.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry warned against taking strong steps in response to the visit, and said that the United States should have prevented the visit from its third most important position.

Commenting on Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, the Kremlin said the tension caused by the visit should not be underestimated.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also criticized Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, and said in statements during his visit to Myanmar that the visit was a deliberate attempt to provoke China.

As for the European Union, it called for resolving the tensions over the visit of the Speaker of the US House of Representatives through dialogue and keeping channels of communication with China open to avoid miscalculation.

The EU spokesperson stressed that the EU has an interest in maintaining peace and the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, and that it encourages the peaceful resolution of issues.