BEIJING: As US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Japan, whose leaders had lodged a protest with Beijing after five projectiles had landed close to Japanese territories, China said on Friday that it had launched missiles over Taiwan for the first time. This heightened tensions in the region.
On Friday morning, Pelosi met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. They discussed the Taiwan Strait, where China is conducting air and sea drills in retaliation for the US Speaker's visit to the island earlier this week.
Prior to the Taiwan Strait Crisis in the 1990s, China launched missiles into the waters surrounding Taiwan, a democratic island with a population of 24 million that the Chinese Communist Party considers to be part of its territory despite never having had authority over it.
However, the US government reportedly warned that there would be further escalation after missiles flew over the island. The US National Security Council's John Kirby told reporters on Thursday at the White House, "We anticipated that China may take moves like these, in fact, I detailed them for you in quite some detail just the other day." In the upcoming days, "we also anticipate that these moves will persist and that China will continue to respond." Kirby stated that a US aircraft carrier would remain in the vicinity of Taiwan for a few more days in order to "watch the situation".
Prior to the Taiwan Strait Crisis in the 1990s, China launched missiles into the waters surrounding Taiwan, a democratic island with a population of 24 million that the Chinese Communist Party considers being part of its territory despite never having had authority over it.
The US National Security Council's John Kirby told reporters on Thursday at the White House, "We anticipated that China may take moves like these, in fact, I detailed them for you in quite some detail just the other day." In the upcoming days, "we also anticipate that these moves will persist and that China will continue to respond." Kirby stated that a US aircraft carrier would remain in the vicinity of Taiwan for a few more days in order to "watch the situation".
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