Senior Col. Shi Yi of the Eastern Theater Command said the exercises were a solemn response to political plays by the US and Taiwan that are undermining the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait. We will take all necessary measures and resolutely defend national sovereignty and the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait. Pelosi's visit, the first from a sitting speaker in 25 years, angered Beijing, which launched significant multi-day military exercises around Taiwan.
China's military said last Wednesday that it had successfully completed those exercises, but pledged to conduct more patrols in the direction of the Taiwan Strait.
China's ruling Communist Party views Taiwan as part of its territory despite having never controlled it, and has pledged to reunify the island with the Chinese mainland by force if necessary. We are not scared'': Taiwan's foreign minister says island will stand up to'more serious' China threats Markey's five-member delegation is visiting the self-governed island in an effort to reaffirm the United States' support for Taiwan and to promote stability and peace across the Taiwan Strait, a spokesman for the senator said in a statement. After hosting the group at the Foreign Ministry on Monday, Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu thanked the delegation for their visit. Authoritarian China can't determine how democratic Taiwan makes friends, wins support, stays resilient, and shines like a beacon of freedom, Wu wrote in a post on the ministry's Twitter account. The delegation was expected to meet Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen and hold discussions on security and trade issues with Taiwanese legislators on the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, according to the Foreign Ministry. A US congressional delegation led by Sen. Ed Markey arrived in Taipei Sunday on an unannounced two-day visit. Beijing has lodged a diplomatic condemnation of the visit, with the Chinese Embassy in Washington on Sunday saying that China would take resolute countermeasures in response to the US provocations. The US does not want to see stability across the Taiwan Straits, and has spared no effort to stir up the fight between the two sides and interfere in China's internal affairs, embassy spokeswoman Liu Pengyu said on Twitter.