The Chinese Foreign Ministry said that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China, and the United States' attempt to use it to contain will not work, while Washington said that it is not looking for a crisis with Beijing, but it will not allow it to be prevented from being present in the eastern Pacific Ocean, in a continuation of the crisis between the two countries that has exacerbated after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taipei.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made it clear that Taiwan has always been a part of China and will never be otherwise, stressing that the United States can never stop the unification process.
At the conclusion of the ASEAN foreign ministers' meetings, Wang Yi stressed that the United Nations recognizes the existence of one China and countries should abide by this principle, calling for concerted efforts to ensure the implementation of the principle of non-interference in the affairs of other countries.
The Chinese minister also indicated that the United States cannot make the same mistake and allow another visit of the Speaker of the House of Representatives to Taiwan.
And Reuters news agency quoted a statement from the Taiwan Defense Ministry that 68 aircraft and 13 ships of the Chinese army are conducting activities around the Taiwan Strait, prompting the Taiwanese military to issue warnings and deploy missile systems on the ground to monitor the situation.
These military developments come after the US House Speaker's visit to Taiwan last Wednesday, a visit she said was to confirm the fulfillment of the United States' promise to support Taiwan and work to strengthen relations with it.
American response
For its part, the White House said that it is not looking for a crisis with China, but that we will not be prevented from using the seas and airspace of the Eastern Pacific region.
The White House stressed that the United States is ready to deal with any path that China chooses, noting that Washington made it clear to the Chinese ambassador that Beijing's actions are a source of concern to us, Taiwan and our partners around the world.
He stressed that China's military actions are irresponsible and go against the maintenance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
The White House's statements came as a result of large-scale Chinese military exercises, which summoned Washington after the Chinese ambassador began to protest against China's launch of ballistic missiles towards Taiwan.
The White House also stressed the US administration's desire to keep the lines of communication open, stressing the firmness of the US policy on the "one-China" principle.
And the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced - in a statement today, Friday - that it has suspended climate talks with the United States, as well as cooperation in preventing cross-border crime and returning irregular migrants, among 8 specific measures.
The same ministry also announced that it had decided to impose sanctions on the speaker of the US House of Representatives and her immediate family in response to what it described as her "malicious and provocative" actions.
On the other hand, the Washington Post reported today, Wednesday, that the White House summoned the Chinese ambassador yesterday to condemn the escalation of measures against Taiwan, and to confirm that the United States does not want a crisis in the region.
"Following China's actions, we have summoned the ambassador to discuss the (Chinese) provocative actions," White House spokesman John Kirby told the newspaper.