“We will not allow (China) to isolate Taiwan,” he said. “They don’t plan our trip.” Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan on Wednesday, when she met with President Tsai Ing-wen and other leaders, angered China’s Communist Party, which considers the self-ruled democratic island as its territory — even though it has never controlled it. Before the visit, Beijing had warned it would take “strong measures” if Pelosi went ahead, and during her departure it launched live-fire military exercises and fired missiles over Taiwan for the first time.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense said that as of 11 a.m. on Friday, several Chinese military aircraft and warships had conducted exercises around the Taiwan Strait and crossed the median line — the midway point between the island and mainland China. Taiwan’s military responded with radio warnings, air patrol forces, naval vessels and land-based missile systems, the ministry said. On Thursday, China sent 22 warplanes into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), all of which crossed the median line. Some countries, including the G7 group of some of the world’s biggest economies, criticized China’s drills, urging Beijing not to change the status quo in the region. In her remarks Friday, Pelosi said the visit to Taiwan was about maintaining the status quo. “It’s about the Taiwan Relations Act, the US-China policy, all the legislation and agreements that have defined what our relationship is — to have peace in the Taiwan Strait and the status quo,” he said. Pelosi also rejected suggestions by some critics that her visit was more about shining a light on her heritage than benefiting the island, calling the claim “ridiculous.” He pointed to Taiwan’s “free and open democracy,” successful economy and relatively progressive LGBTQ rights. “It’s not about me — it’s about them,” he added. “It’s about Taiwan, and I’m proud to have worked over the years to show the concerns they have with mainland China.” Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday called for an immediate halt to China’s drills, calling them “a serious issue concerning the security of our country and its people.” Earlier, Japan lodged a formal complaint after five Chinese missiles landed in its Exclusive Economic Zone. Amid worsening relations, China canceled a planned meeting between the foreign ministers of China and Japan. On Thursday, China’s Vice Foreign Minister Deng Li invited envoys from European countries, the EU and Japan to China in protest over their statements on Taiwan. The G7 statement “distorts the facts” and is a “flagrant political provocation,” said Deng, who accused the countries involved of interfering in China’s internal affairs. Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan was the first by a sitting speaker of the House in 25 years, since former President Newt Gingrich visited in 1997. Her Asia tour also included stops in Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Japan . CNN’s Gawon Bae and Yong Xiong in Seoul, Emiko Jozuka in Tokyo, Eric Cheung in Taipei and Sam Fossum in Washington contributed to this report.