China has issued a warning to the United States over the possibility of a meeting between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy during her planned transit through the country. In a statement released on Wednesday, China said that it will “resolutely fight back” if McCarthy meets with Tsai. The Taiwanese president is scheduled to travel to Guatemala and Belize, with transits through New York and California.
Although the meeting has not been officially confirmed, sources suggest that Tsai is expected to meet McCarthy in California at the end of her trip. This has raised concerns among Chinese officials, who have repeatedly warned US officials against meeting with Tsai, whom they view as an advocate for Taiwanese independence.
China has long claimed Taiwan as its own territory, and sees any moves towards independence by the island as a direct challenge to its sovereignty. Beijing has previously staged military exercises around Taiwan during official visits by foreign dignitaries to the island, including then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in August 2022.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson, Zhu Fenglian, told reporters in Beijing that Tsai’s “transits” of the US were not simply for waiting at airports or hotels, but were intended for her to meet with US officials and legislators. Zhu warned that a meeting between McCarthy and Tsai would be viewed as a serious violation of the one-China principle, and would harm China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, while also destabilising the Taiwan Strait.
“We firmly oppose this and will definitely take measures to resolutely fight back,” Zhu added, without giving further details.
Taiwanese presidents routinely pass through the US while visiting diplomatic allies in Latin America, the Caribbean and the Pacific, and although these are not official visits, they are often used by both sides for high-level meetings. However, China sees any meeting between foreign officials and Tsai as a direct challenge to its sovereignty, and has previously taken aggressive measures in response.
In response, the US has stressed that such transits by Taiwanese presidents are routine, and that China should not use Tsai’s trip to take any aggressive moves against Taiwan. While the US officially recognises the one-China policy, it also maintains a strong relationship with Taiwan, and has repeatedly voiced its support for the island’s democratic government.
Taiwan’s government has strongly rejected China’s sovereignty claims, and Tsai has repeatedly offered talks with Beijing, although she has also stated that only the people of Taiwan can decide their future. The Taiwanese president is expected to give a speech in New York hosted by the Hudson Institute, a conservative US think tank, on March 30 en route to Latin America, and then again at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California on her return to Asia in April.
Aljazeera
