The United States said Thursday it expects Beijing to increase its “military, economic and diplomatic pressure on Taiwan in the coming weeks and months.”
“If our policy hasn’t changed, only increased coercion from Beijing has,” Daniel Kritenbrink, the State Department’s East Asia official, said on a conference call with journalists.
Earlier this month, the Chinese military responded to the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taipei with unprecedented air and cross-strait drills.
“These activities are part of an intensive campaign of coercion (…) to intimidate and coerce Taiwan and to undermine its resilience,” Kritenbrink said.
And that pressure will continue in the coming “weeks and months,” he added.
Washington on Thursday announced formal negotiations for a trade and investment deal with Taiwan to support that democracy, though the United States has no official ties with the Taipei government.
Beijing claims sovereignty over Taiwan, has vowed to one day win it back, by force if necessary, and is irritated by any diplomatic act closer to official recognition of the island.
“[China’s]words and actions are deeply destabilizing. They risk miscalculations and threaten peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits,” Kritenbrink said.
Taiwan unveiled its most advanced fighter jet in a rare nighttime display after military exercises in Beijing on Wednesday.
The American diplomat assured that Washington would respond with “calm but decisive measures” to keep the Taiwan Strait open.
A senior US Navy commander said this week that Washington and its allies should challenge China’s ballistic missile launches over Taiwan.