This handout image taken on August 9, 2022 and released by the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People鈥檚 Liberation Army (PLA) on August 10 shows a ship and a helicopter of PLA taking part in a military drill in an undisclosed location. AFP
BEIJING 鈥� China said Monday it had organized fresh military drills around Taiwan, as a delegation of visiting United States lawmakers met the island鈥檚 leader after a similar trip by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi heightened fears of conflict.
The unannounced two-day trip came after Beijing sent warships, missiles and jets into the waters and skies around Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy that China鈥檚 leaders claim and have vowed to one day seize.
The five-member congressional delegation 鈥� led by Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts 鈥� met with President Tsai Ing-wen on Monday, according to Washington鈥檚 de facto embassy.
鈥淭he delegation had an opportunity to exchange views with Taiwan counterparts on a wide range of issues of importance to both the United States and Taiwan,鈥� it said.
The bipartisan trip sparked a caustic response from Beijing, which said it had carried out 鈥渃ombat readiness patrol and combat drills in the sea and airspace around Taiwan island鈥� on Monday.
鈥淭his is a solemn deterrent against the US and Taiwan for continuing to play political tricks and undermining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,鈥� Shi Yi, spokesman for the Chinese military鈥檚 Eastern Theater Command, said in a statement, promising to 鈥渞esolutely defend national sovereignty鈥�.
Taiwan鈥檚 government has accused Beijing of using Pelosi鈥檚 visit as an excuse to kickstart drills that would allow it to rehearse for an invasion.
China鈥檚 Communist Party has never ruled Taiwan but says it will use force if necessary to take the island and bristles at any perceived treatment of it as a sovereign nation state.
In response to the delegation鈥檚 visit, Beijing called on Washington to 鈥渟top going further down the wrong path of hollowing out and distorting the one-China principle, so as not to cause further damage to China-US relations and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait鈥�.
鈥淐hina will take firm and forceful measures to safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity,鈥� foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a regular briefing.
鈥楻ed lines鈥�
That decades-old threat was reiterated in a white paper published last week when China鈥檚 Taiwan Affairs Office said it would 鈥渘ot renounce the use of force鈥� against its neighbor and reserved 鈥渢he option of taking all necessary measures鈥�.
It added, however: 鈥淲e will only be forced to take drastic measures to respond to the provocation of separatist elements or external forces should they ever cross our red lines.鈥�
Taipei has remained defiant throughout the standoff with Beijing, with foreign minister Joseph Wu saying after a meeting with the delegation that their visit showed the island had not been cowed by China鈥檚 threats.
鈥淎uthoritarian China can鈥檛 dictate how democratic Taiwan makes friends, wins support, stays resilient and shines like a beacon of freedom,鈥� Wu said in a tweet.
鈥淭heir visit once again demonstrates that China cannot dictate nor instruct other countries鈥� politicians not to visit Taiwan,鈥� Lo Chih-cheng, a lawmaker with the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), told AFP.
Pelosi has stood by her visit but President Joe Biden said the US military was opposed to the trip by his fellow Democrat, who is second in line to the presidency after the vice president.
Congress is constitutionally an equal branch of government in the United States, with lawmakers free to travel where they wish, and Taiwan enjoys bipartisan backing in divided Washington.
The United States switched diplomatic relations from Taipei to Beijing in 1979. But it remains a key ally of Taiwan and maintains de facto diplomatic relations with Taipei.
Washington鈥檚 official policy opposes both Taiwan declaring independence and China forcibly changing the island鈥檚 status.
It remains deliberately ambiguous about whether it would come to Taiwan鈥檚 aid militarily if China invaded.
Visits by senior US officials to Taiwan have happened for decades and even Pelosi鈥檚 trip was not without precedent 鈥� then-speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich visited in 1997.
But the frequency and profile of US visits has increased both under former president Donald Trump and Biden.
Taiwan has also seen a flurry of delegations visit from Europe and other Western allies in recent years, partly in response to Beijing鈥檚 more aggressive stance under Chinese President Xi Jinping.
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