LIU JIE XINHUA China's top envoy in Washington has rejected the US condemning China's military countermeasures taken after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, an embassy spokeswoman said Friday.
According to a spokeswoman for the National Security Council, officials of the White House National Security CouncilHouse National Security Council summoned Chinese ambassador Qin Gang on Thursday to condemn China's military exercises around Taiwan.
During the meeting, Qin sternly rejected the unreasonable accusations of the US side, a Chinese embassy spokesman said in a statement.
Pelosi visited the Taiwan region Tuesday night, a move that the Chinese Foreign Ministry said was not a defense and maintenance of democracy, but a provocation and violation of China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. This has seriously undermined peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits and China-US relations, the spokesperson said. The cause, consequences and merits of the incident are clear. The US side has to bear full responsibility for the current situation. The Chinese military on Thursday conducted joint combat exercises around the Taiwan island on an unprecedented scale firing new models of rockets that hit targets with precision in the eastern part of the Taiwan Straits, according to Chinese media reports.
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Ambassador Qin stressed that military countermeasures taken by the Chinese People's Liberation Army in the waters around the Taiwan Island are necessary and legitimate measures to deter 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces and safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Chinese side matches its words with actions, with prior warnings made about them, it added.
The spokesperson stated that more than 160 countries and international organizations, including ASEAN countries and other regional countries, have criticized Pelosi's visit and reiterated their commitment to the one-China principle.
The US accusing China is escalating the tension is completely groundless and false. The US is the main cause of the dispute between the Taiwan Straits and the region, according to a spokesman.
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Qin called on the United States to honor its commitment to abiding by the One-China policy and not supporting Taiwan independence, and immediately act to correct its mistakes and to eliminate the grave impact of Pelosi's visit, according to the spokesperson.
The ambassador said that it shouldn't take escalatory actions to further increase the tension between the Taiwan Straits and China-US relations.