China announced on Friday that it was suspending dialogue with the United States in a number of areas, including between strategic-level military commanders and talks on the environment, further escalating the situation after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan .
China's Foreign Ministry said it was also suspending cooperation with Washington on preventing cross-border crime and drug trafficking, areas where, in addition to environmental change, US officials see opportunities for cooperation.
Kina ka reaguar me zemërim pasi zonja Pelosi e vizitoi ishullin e vetëqeverisur që Pekini e konsideron si territorin e tij sovran, duke shënuar kështu vizitën e nivelit më të lartë nga zyrtarë e Shteteve të Bashkuara, në 25 vjetët e fundit. Në kuadër të reagimit të ashpër, Kina nisi të enjten stërvitje ushtarake në detet dhe hapësirën ajrore rreth Tajvanit. Stërvitjet, më të mëdhatë të kryera ndonjëherë nga Kina në ngushticën e Tajvanit, janë planifikuar të vazhdojnë deri në mesditën e së dielës.
Ministria e Mbrojtjes e Tajvanit tha të premten se gjithsej 68 avionë ushtarakë dhe 13 anije të marinës kineze po kryenin stërvitje në ngushticën e ndjeshme të Tajvanit. Disa prej tyre, thanë ata, kaluan edhe një pjesë të zonës jozyrtare neutrale që ndan të dy palët, një lëvizje që ministria e përshkroi si "dëmtim të status quo-së".
Sekretari amerikan i Shtetit Antony Blinken tha se Uashingtoni i ka bërë të qartë në mënyrë të përsëritur Pekinit se nuk kërkon një krizë për vizitën e zonjës Pelosi në Tajvan, e cila u zhvillua të mërkurën gjatë një turneu të delegacionit të Kongresit amerikan në Azi.
"Nuk ka asnjë justifikim për këtë reagim ushtarak ekstrem dhe përshkallëzues," tha zoti Blinken në një konferencë shtypi ndërsa po merrte pjesë të Forumit Rajonal ASEAN në Kamboxhia. Ai shtoi, "tani, ata i kanë çuar aktet e rrezikshme në një nivel të ri."
Zoti Blinken theksoi se Shtetet e Bashkuara nuk do të ndërmarrin veprime për të provokuar krizë, por do të vazhdojnë të mbështesin aleatët rajonalë dhe të kryejnë lëvizje standarde ajror dhe detare përmes ngushticës së Tajvanit.
"We will fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows," he said.
DIPLOMATIC FRONT
The White House summoned Chinese ambassador Qin Gang on Thursday to condemn the Chinese government's actions. This followed Beijing's call for US Ambassador Nicholas Burns earlier this week for Ms Pelosi to visit Taiwan.
State Department representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment on China's suspension of talks and cooperation in several areas.
The Chinese statement did not say whether it would suspend military talks at the highest levels, such as with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley.
Although these talks have been rare, officials have said it is important to have talks in the event of an emergency or accident.
Beijing announced separately that it would impose personal sanctions on Ms Pelosi and her family amid a Chinese response to her visit to Taiwan that Beijing described as "reverse" and "provocative".
During the visit to Japan, Mrs. Pelosi said that her trip to Asia was never intended to change the status quo of the region.
"BAD NEIGHBOR"
Taiwan's defense ministry said the island's military had dispatched aircraft and ships and deployed land-based missile systems to monitor ships and aircraft that briefly crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait.
On Thursday, China launched several missiles into the waters around Taiwan.
Japan's defense ministry, which is following the drills, initially reported that four of the missiles flew over Taiwan's capital, which is unprecedented.
Later, Taiwan's defense ministry said the missiles were high in the atmosphere and posed no threat.
JAPAN'S CONCERNS
Responding to the Chinese drills, President Tsai Ing-wen said Taiwan would not provoke conflicts but would resolutely protect its sovereignty and national security.
Taiwan has been self-governing since 1949, when Mao Zedong's Communists seized power in Beijing after defeating Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) in a civil war, leading to the establishment of a Kuomintang-led government in Taiwan.
Speaking after the meeting with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, the Japanese Prime Minister stated that he had "informed Mrs. Pelosi that the fact that China's ballistic missiles had landed near Japanese waters threatens our national security and that Japan had strongly condemned the actions of like that," Kishida said.
China's foreign ministry said it had summoned the ambassador to Japan and a Canadian diplomat in Beijing on Thursday over what it called a "wrong" statement by the Group of Seven (G7) countries on Taiwan, and had also made complaints to EU envoys.