Pentagon Says China Uses Military Exercises to Coerce Taiwan, International Community

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - China is trying to coerce Taiwan and the international community by conducting massive military exercises around the island, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl said on Monday.

“Clearly, the PRC [People's Republic of China] is trying to coerce Taiwan. Clearly, they're trying to coerce the international community. All I say is we're not going to take the bait and it's not going to work,” Kahl said during a press briefing.

Instead of playing to China's advantage in this situation, the United States will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows it to do so, including in the Taiwan Strait, Kahl said.

The Undersecretary of Defense also said there is no new assessment as to whether China would take Taiwan militarily in two years.

Relations between China and the United States have suffered a severe blow after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan last week despite warnings by Beijing that the visit would violate the One China policy - the backbone in the relations of the two countries. China responded by organizing large-scale military exercises around Taiwan and imposing restriction on some Taiwanese products.

Earlier on Monday, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian called on the US government to respect China's legitimate interests and forget the idea of using Taiwan as a tool of control in the South Pacific.