China’s move to freeze key lines of communication adds to a rapid deterioration in relations since Pelosi’s visit and a Chinese response with military exercises off Taiwan, including the launch of missiles fired into nearby waters. The White House summoned China’s ambassador, Qin Gang, late Thursday to tell him the military actions “concerned Taiwan, us and our partners around the world,” spokesman John Kirby said.
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Ominously, experts in China-US relations have warned that China’s diplomatic and military moves appear to go beyond retaliation for the visit and could usher in a new, more openly hostile era and a more uncertain era for Taiwan’s democratic government. Story continues below ad China-US relations are “on the decline,” said Bonnie Glaser, head of the Asia program at the German Marshall Fund. “And I think China is likely to change the status quo in the Taiwan Straits in ways that will be harmful to Taiwan and will be harmful to the United States,” Glaser said. 2:52 China conducts live-fire ballistic missile drills off Taiwan coast in response to Pelosi visit China conducts live-fire ballistic missile drills off Taiwan coast in response to Pelosi visit In recent years, other rounds of tensions between China and its neighbors over borders with India, regional islands and the South China Sea have ended with China asserting new territorial claims and enforcing them, noted John Culver , a former East Asian intelligence officer, now a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. The same could happen now in Taiwan, Culver said. “So I don’t know how this ends. We saw how it starts.” China’s measures, which come amid cratering relations between Beijing and Washington, are the latest in a series of moves aimed at punishing the US for allowing the visit to the island it claims as its own territory, to be annexed by force if necessary. . China on Thursday began threatening military exercises in six zones just off the coast of Taiwan, which will last until Sunday. Story continues below ad China sent some missiles flying over Taiwan, Chinese officials told state media. China routinely criticizes the self-governing island that has its own contacts with foreign governments, but its response to the visit by Pelosi – she was the highest-ranking US official in 25 years – was unusually strong.
Read more: Taiwan cancels flights as China fires missiles after Pelosi visit
China’s moves to cut off communications with senior officials are raising pessimism about the chances that Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping and their top officials will be able to defuse immediate tensions. They also appear to have derailed a rare note of encouragement _ high-level one-on-one meetings between top officials in recent months, including defense chiefs at an Asian security conference in Singapore and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Foreign Secretary Antony Blinken at a group 20 meeting in Indonesia. These talks were seen as a step in a positive direction in an otherwise poisoned relationship. Now, talks have broken down even on climate, where envoys from the two countries had met several times. This dashes faint hopes of any improvement in ties and increases the risk of misunderstandings and further crisis. 1:28 Pelosi leaves Taiwan, visit that angered China Pelosi leaves Taiwan, visit restrictions that angered China China has not stopped short of stalling economic and trade talks, where it is looking to Biden to lift tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on Chinese imports. Trending Stories
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Story continues below ad A joint US-China deal on combating climate change reached by Xi and then-President Barack Obama in November 2014 was often hailed as a turning point that led to the landmark Paris accord in 2015, to which nearly every nation in the world committed to try to limit emissions of heat-trapping gases. Seven years later, during the Glasgow climate talks, another US-China deal helped iron out problems in another international climate agreement. China and the United States are the world’s No. 1 and No. 2 climate polluters, together producing nearly 40% of all fossil fuel emissions.
Read more: China lashes out at Pelosi’s visit, but experts say Taiwanese are ‘thrilled’
China’s foreign ministry said dialogue between US and Chinese regional commanders and defense chiefs would be cancelled, along with talks on military maritime security. Cooperation on the return of illegal immigrants, criminal investigations, transnational crime, illegal drugs and climate change will be suspended, the ministry said. Kirby said senior US officials meet regularly with their Chinese counterparts about the dispute. Calling China’s actions “provocative,” he added, “We have also made it clear that the United States is prepared for whatever Beijing chooses to do.” China’s moves come ahead of a key ruling Communist Party congress later this year, at which President Xi is expected to receive a third five-year term as party leader. With the economy faltering, the party has stoked nationalism and launched almost daily attacks on the government of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who refuses to recognize Taiwan as part of China. Story continues below ad China said on Friday that more than 100 warplanes and 10 warships had taken part in live-fire military exercises around Taiwan over the past two days, while announcing mostly symbolic sanctions against Pelosi and her family. 2:23 Taiwanese scholars weigh impact of Pelosi’s visit Taiwanese scholars weigh impact of Pelosi’s visit The Rocket Force also fired missiles over Taiwan in the Pacific, military officers told state media, in a major escalation of China’s threats to attack and invade the island. On the Chinese coast across from Taiwan, tourists gathered on Friday to try to catch a glimpse of any military aircraft headed for the exercise area. Fighter jets were heard flying overhead and tourists taking photos chanted, “Let’s take Taiwan back,” looking out over the blue waters of the Taiwan Strait from Pingtan Island, a popular scenic spot in China’s Fujian Province. Pelosi’s visit stirred emotions among the Chinese public, and the government’s response “makes us feel that our motherland is very strong and gives us confidence that Taiwan’s return is the irresistible trend,” said Wang Lu, a tourist from neighboring Zhejiang Province. Story continues below ad
Read more: US will stand by Taiwan, Pelosi says during visit as China protests
China is a “strong country and will not allow anyone to encroach on its own territory,” said Liu Bolin, a high school student visiting the island. China’s insistence that Taiwan is its territory and its threat to use force to regain control have appeared in statements by the ruling Communist Party, the education system and state-controlled media for more than seven decades since the sides they split in the middle of a civil war in 1949. Taiwanese overwhelmingly support maintaining the status quo of de facto independence and reject China’s demands that the island be reunited with the communist-controlled mainland. Beyond Taiwan, five of the missiles fired by China landed in Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone off Hateruma, an island far south of Japan’s main islands, Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said. He said Japan protested the missile launches in China as “serious threats to Japan’s national security and the safety of the Japanese people.” 4:19 Taiwan criticizes Chinese military drills and cyber attacks while Beijing denies wrongdoing after Pelosi trip In Tokyo, where Pelosi is wrapping up her Asia trip, she said China cannot prevent US officials from visiting Taiwan. Story continues below ad China said it had summoned European diplomats to the country to protest statements issued by the Group of Seven industrialized nations and the European Union criticizing Chinese military exercises around Taiwan. Blinken on Friday called the drills a “significant escalation” and said he had called on Beijing to back down. Taiwan has put its military on alert and held civil defense drills, but the overall mood remained calm on Friday. Flights have been canceled or diverted and fishermen have remained in port to avoid the Chinese…