Vice President Harris slams China for threatening Taiwan

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Vice President Harris slams China for threatening Taiwan

On Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris condemned the actions of China in the Pacific while vowing to deepen unofficial ties with Taiwan, days after the U.S. administration pledged to defend the island.

Harris made remarks on the deck on the USS Howard destroyer during a visit to the largest overseas U.S. Navy installation in the world in Yokosuka, near the Japanese capital.

Harris, who is on a four day trip to Asia, said China is undermining key elements of the international rules-based order.

China has flexed its military and economic might to coerce and intimidate its neighbors. We have seen disturbing behavior in the East China Sea and the South China Sea and most recently, provocations across the Taiwan Strait. The remarks to American sailors wearing whites came after President Joe Biden pledged to defend the Chinese island of Taiwan against an unprecedented attack. The U.S. adheres to a one China policy that recognizes only Beijing, but binds the U.S. government to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.

China says Taiwan is one of its provinces. It has vowed to bring Taiwan under its control for a long time and has not ruled out the use of force to do so.

Taiwan s government strongly objects to China's sovereignty claims and says only 23 million people on the island can decide its future.

In August, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, infuriating China, which carried out its largest military exercises around the island.

Harris said that the U.S. forces would operate in the region unafraid and unaunted, even as the United States expects continued aggressive actions by China.