Pelosi, the first sitting House speaker to visit Taiwan in 25 years, said in Taipei on Wednesday that America’s commitment to democracy on the self-ruled island and elsewhere “remains ironclad.” In response, China announced it would begin its largest military maneuvers targeting Taiwan in more than a quarter of a century. After visiting Taiwan, Pelosi and other members of Congress flew to South Korea – a key US ally where some 28,500 US troops are deployed – on Wednesday night as part of an Asian tour that included stops in Singapore and Malaysia. He met with South Korea’s National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo and other senior members of parliament on Thursday. After that hour-long meeting, Pelosi spoke of the bilateral alliance, forged in blood during the 1950-53 Korean War, and legislative efforts to support a push to strengthen ties, but did not directly mention the her visit to Taiwan or the Chinese protests. “We also come to tell you that a friendship, a relationship that began with urgency and security, many years ago, has become the warmest of friendships,” Pelosi said at a joint news conference with Kim. “We want to advance security, economy and governance in a cross-parliamentary way.” Neither Pelosi nor Kim took questions from reporters. Kim said he and Pelosi shared concerns about North Korea’s growing nuclear threats. He said the two agreed to support their governments’ drive for denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula based on both strong deterrence against North Korea and diplomacy. Later in the day, Pelosi planned to visit an inter-Korean border area jointly controlled by the United Nations-led UN Command and North Korea, a South Korean official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. information on the matter. . If that visit goes ahead, Pelosi would be the highest-level American to go to the Joint Security Area since then-President Donald Trump went there in 2019 for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Sitting within the 4km (2.5 miles) wide Demilitarized Zone, a reserve created at the end of the Korean War, the JSA is the site of bloodshed in the past and a place for many conversations. US presidents and other top officials have often traveled to the JSA and other border regions to reaffirm their commitment to South Korean security. Any critical statement about North Korea from Pelosi is sure to provoke an angry response from Pyongyang. On Wednesday, the North’s foreign ministry criticized the United States for its trip to Taiwan, saying “the current situation clearly shows that the US’s brazen interference in the internal affairs of other countries.” Pelosi will speak by phone Thursday afternoon with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is on vacation this week, according to Yoon’s office. No face-to-face meeting between them has been arranged. Yoon, a conservative, took office in May vowing to strengthen South Korea’s military alliance with the United States and take a harder line on North Korean provocations. Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan has angered China, which views the island nation as a breakaway province that will be annexed by force if necessary. China sees visits by foreign officials to Taiwan as recognition of its sovereignty. “Today the world faces a choice between democracy and autocracy,” Pelosi said in a brief speech during a meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday. “America’s resolve to preserve democracy, here in Taiwan and around the world, remains ironclad.” The Biden administration and Pelosi have said the United States remains committed to the so-called one-China policy, which recognizes Beijing but allows informal relations and defense ties with Taipei. The administration discouraged but did not prevent Pelosi from visiting. Military exercises launched by China in response to Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan began on Thursday, the Chinese military said. They were expected to be the biggest targets in Taiwan since 1995, when China launched missiles in a large-scale exercise to show its displeasure over a visit by then-Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui to the US. China has also already flown fighter jets and other warplanes to Taiwan and blocked imports of citrus and fish from Taiwan. Tsai has consistently pushed back against Beijing’s military exercises, parts of which will enter Taiwanese waters. “In the face of deliberately increased military threats, Taiwan will not back down,” Tsai said in her meeting with Pelosi. “We will firmly support our nation’s sovereignty and continue to hold the line of defense for democracy.” Taiwan’s defense ministry on Thursday called the Chinese drills “absurd actions in an attempt to change the status quo, destroy the peace and stability of the region.” “Our national army will continue to increase its level of alertness and each squadron will conduct their daily training as usual in their usual places of operation,” he added. In Washington, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby tried to allay fears. He told ABC’s “Good Morning America” Wednesday that U.S. officials “don’t think we’re on the brink now, and there’s certainly no reason to talk about being on the brink in the future.” Addressing Beijing’s threats, Pelosi said she hoped it would be clear that while China has blocked Taiwan from participating in some international meetings, “that they understand they will not stand in the way of people coming to Taiwan as a sign of friendship and support.” Pelosi noted that congressional support for Taiwan is bipartisan and praised the island’s democracy. He stopped short of saying the US would defend Taiwan militarily and stressed that Congress is “committed to Taiwan’s security so that Taiwan can defend itself more effectively.” On Thursday, the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations called for calm in the Taiwan Strait, urging against any “provocative action”. ASEAN foreign ministers meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia for a regional forum said they were concerned the situation could “destabilize the region and could ultimately lead to miscalculation, serious confrontation, open conflict and unforeseen consequences between the major forces”. Pelosi’s focus has always been the same, she said, going back to her 1991 visit to Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, when she and other lawmakers unfurled a small pro-democracy banner two years after a bloody military crackdown on protesters in the square. This visit was also about human rights and dangerous technology transfers to “rogue countries”. Pelosi’s trip raised US-China tensions more than visits by other members of Congress because of her position as leader of the House of Representatives. The last speaker of the House to visit Taiwan was Newt Gingrich in 1997. China and Taiwan, separated in 1949 after a civil war, have no official relations but multibillion-dollar business ties. __ Wu reported from Taipei Taiwan. __ Associated Press writer David Rising in Phnom Penh, Cambodia contributed to this report.
