White House Says US Committed to One China Policy After Taiwan Shoots at Chinese Drone

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States remains committed to the One China Policy, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday, after Taiwan fired warning shots at a Chinese drone which approached a Taiwanese-controlled islet.

"Our policy towards Taiwan has remained consistent, and it has been for decades now," Jean-Pierre told a briefing, when asked about Taiwan shooting toward China's drone. "We remain committed to the One China policy . And in accordance with that policy, we'll continue to fly, we'll continue to sail and operate where international law allows us to be consistent with our long-standing commitment to freedom of navigation and that includes conducting standard air and maritime transits through the Taiwan Strait."

The Taiwanese military fired warning shots at a Chinese People's Liberation Army drone on Tuesday for the first time, the island's defense ministry said.

The situation around Taiwan escalated after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island in early August. China condemned the trip, which it regarded as a gesture of support for separatism, and launched large-scale military exercises in the vicinity of the island. However, other high-level US delegations have since visited Taiwan.

China considers Taiwan an unalienable part of its sovereign territory and opposes any official contacts between the island and other countries. The US maintains active contacts with the island and is selling billions of dollars' worth of weapons to Taiwan. Beijing has repeatedly said that the One China principle is a political foundation of China-US relations and that violations by Washington of its own obligations have been jeopardizing cooperation between the two countries, threatening peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.