China Reiterates Its Opposition Amid Reports of Pentagon Official's Possible Taiwan Visit

BEIJING (Sputnik) - The United States must comply with the one-China principle and stop any form of official exchanges and military ties with Taiwan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, commenting on media reports of a potential imminent visit to the island by US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for China Michael Chase.

Earlier in the day, the American media reported, citing sources, that the Pentagon official would visit Taiwan in the coming days, marking the first visit by a senior US defense official to the island since 2019. The report came amid a rift in relations between Washington and Beijing following the downing of a suspected spy balloon off the US coast.

"We strongly oppose official exchanges and military ties between the US and Taiwan, this is a clear and consistent position," the Chinese diplomat told a briefing.

Wang called on Washington to comply with the one-China policy and the provisions of the three joint China-US communiques, and urged Washington to stop causing tension in the Taiwan Strait.

At the same time, the diplomat did not answer when asked whether China will conduct military exercises in the event of Chase's visit to the island.

The situation around Taiwan escalated after then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island in early August. Beijing condemned Pelosi's trip, which it regarded as a gesture of support for separatism, and launched large-scale military exercises in the vicinity of the island. Despite this fact, several countries, including France, the US, Japan and others, have since sent their delegations to the island, further increasing tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwan has been governed independently from mainland China since 1949. Beijing views the island as its province, while Taiwan — a territory with its own elected government — maintains that it is an autonomous country but stops short of declaring independence. Beijing opposes any official contacts of foreign states with Taipei and considers Chinese sovereignty over the island indisputable.