Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
China's Foreign Affairs Ministry condemned House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in a statement Tuesday morning, saying it "seriously infringes upon China's sovereignty and territorial integrity."
Driving the news: Pelosi's visit to Taiwan has been highly contested, with President Biden saying last month that military officials advised against it.
- China vowed to show a "strong and resolute" military response to Pelosi's visit, with National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby warning earlier this week that China could respond by firing missiles into the Taiwan Strait or with a large-scale breach of Taiwan's air defense zone.
- In late July, China announced new military exercises in the South China Sea while Taiwan conducted military exercises to simulate a Chinese invasion, part of its regular schedule of defense drills conducted every year.
What they're saying: Pelosi's visit was conducted "in disregard" of China's opposition to it and is a serious violation of the "one China" policy, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement, according to China's state-owned People's Daily.
- "It has a severe impact on the political foundation of China-U.S. relations, and seriously infringes upon China's sovereignty and territorial integrity," the statement read.
- "There is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory," it added, later noting that "the U.S. executive branch has the responsibility to stop such visit."
The statement accused the U.S. of "attempting to use Taiwan to contain China," distorting the one China policy and emboldening Taiwanese independence separatist activities.
- "These moves, like playing with fire, are extremely dangerous. Those who play with fire will perish by it," the statement read.
The big picture: The Chinese government has repeatedly vowed to take control of the self-governing island, by force if necessary, and it reacts furiously to any gesture that seems to treat Taiwan as an independent state, Axios' Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian and Dave Lawler write.
Go deeper: Why Pelosi's Taiwan visit matters to China