Latest twist in Taiwan spat sees top China envoy and White House clash over Pelosi visit aftermath

Unabating tensions between Washington and Beijing over US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to Taiwan and China's subsequent military drills encircling the island led the White House to summon the Chinese ambassador to blast Beijing's "overreaction" to the visit, prompting the envoy to "sternly" reject the criticism.

The strong statements reveal that the rancour and unease centred on the Taiwan Strait have seeped thousands of miles away into the halls of power in Washington.

The two superpowers sharply disagree over just about every detail of the events of this week - not only blaming each other for triggering the hostility felt across the region, but even asserting contradictory claims about whether China's neighbours side with Beijing or Washington.

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The White House told reporters on Friday it had "made clear" to Qin Gang, the Chinese ambassador to the US, that Beijing's actions "were a concern, of course, not only to us, but to Taiwan and to the rest of the world", according to National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby, citing the meeting with the envoy a day before.

"We wanted to make sure that he knew how much the international community was also opposed to this," Kirby said.

Jing Quan, a minister at the embassy, said during a separate briefing on Friday that "Ambassador Qin Gang sternly rejected the unreasonable accusations of the US side on Chinese military countermeasures when meeting with the officials of the White House National Security Council".

Jing blamed the US for being the "troublemaker" following Pelosi's arrival in Taiwan on Tuesday. China has responded since Pelosi's overnight visit with unprecedented military drills nearby that are due to run through Sunday.

A day after Pelosi left Taiwan, China's People's Liberation Army began its largest-ever live-fire air and naval joint drills, which have encircled the island. Observers have called the activities a de facto blockade, and analysts say it is the closest the PLA has ever come to Taiwan.

As part of the exercises, China fired multiple conventional missiles, with some flying directly over the island. The Japanese government said five missiles fell within its exclusive economic zone.

On Friday, Kirby said it was Beijing's military drills and "overreaction" that had escalated tensions in the strait.

Kirby and Jing both said they had broad international support behind them, with each claiming to enjoy the backing of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

"Over 160 countries and international organizations, including Asean countries and other regional countries, have criticised Pelosi's visit," said Jing.

Meanwhile, Kirby said many US allies and partners in the region were "expressing their concerns over what China is doing, and making it clear that, like us, they don't find this acceptable behaviour".

"You've seen statements from the G7," Kirby said, referring to the bloc of advanced economies. "You've seen statements from Asean."

A joint statement by Asean on Thursday said the organisation was "concerned with the international and regional volatility" because it could "destabilise the region and eventually could lead to miscalculation, serious confrontation, open conflicts and unpredictable consequences among major powers".

Jing also insisted that the US House speaker's visit to the island was accorded "full protocol treatment" by the Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. He said Pelosi's trip sent "an exceptionally strong signal that 'the US is on Taiwan's side'".

Pelosi is second in line to the US presidency and the most senior American politician to visit Taiwan since 1997.

Beijing regards Tsai's administration as advocating for Taiwan's independence. Beijing sees Taiwan, a self-ruled island, as a renegade province and has not ruled out the use of force to bring it under its control.

Kirby said the White House wanted to make sure Qin understood "clearly and without doubt" that nothing had changed in the "one-China policy" - a term for Washington's official relationship with Beijing and its unofficial relationship with Taipei.

But Jing said the US should "act immediately to rectify its mistakes and eliminate the grave impact of Pelosi's visit".

"It should not take escalating actions and make further mistakes," he added.

Jing did not specify what measures would be considered an escalation, nor did he indicate what China expected the US to do next.

"There's nothing here for the United States to rectify," Kirby said.

Kirby added that the meeting with Qin at the White House was an important line of communication between the two rival superpowers at a tense moment.

"We want to be able to keep that channel open," Kirby said. "But did we come out of that meeting with some sort of framework by the Chinese side to de-escalate and to stop or end the tension that they have caused? I wouldn't go that far."

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2022 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2022. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.