August 13, 2023
2 mins read

China condemns Taiwan Vice-President’s transit stop in US

William Lai will stop for transit in New York on his way to the South American country and another in San Francisco on his return…reports Asian Lite News

Taiwan’s Vice President William Lai departed for his seven-day trip to Paraguay and will have a stopover in US in a transit stop which angered the Chinese side on Saturday.

Taiwan Vice President informed on the social media platform ‘X’ formerly known as Twitter and said, “Departing soon for #Asuncion to attend @SantiPenap’s inauguration & convey to him & the people of #Paraguay the best wishes of @iingwen & #Taiwan. Looking forward to meeting with @MaritoAbdo to express thanks for his staunch support & excited to meet with #US friends in transit.”

William Lai will stop for transit in New York on his way to the South American country and another in San Francisco on his return, reported the VOA news.

China has firmly reacted to Taiwan’s Lai stopover and condemned it strongly. The VOA news reported that China said there are concerns it will respond to the visits by launching military exercises in protest.

Meanwhile, the American and Taiwanese officials have characterized Lai’s stops as “routine” for Taiwanese officials. China says it firmly opposes such “sneaky visits”,  especially by someone like Lai, a politician Beijing has branded a Taiwan “independence separatist.”

In the month of April this year, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen met the speaker of the United States House of Representatives, McCarthy, on Wednesday (local time) in California, The New York Post reported.

Notably, this was the first time when Taiwan’s President met with a US House speaker on American soil.

The meeting between the two leaders is seen as something China extremely disapproves of and has repeatedly shown opposition to.

Ahead of their meeting, China dispatched several maritime vessels near Taiwan’s coast. On Wednesday night local time, Beijing sent a “large scale patrol and rescue vessel” to the central and northern Taiwan Strait for a three-day “joint patrol and inspection” operation, China’s Fujian Maritime Safety Administration said in a statement.

Last year, China fired multiple missiles and launched military drills around Taiwan after then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island. Her visit also strained the bilateral ties between US and China.

Recently, Taiwan detected the highest number of navy vessels around the country in a single day “in recent times,” reported Taiwan News.

According to Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence (MND), sixteen navy vessels and fifteen Chinese military aircraft were detected in the vicinity of Taiwan.

Beijing has sent 239 military aircraft and 94 naval ships around Taiwan so far this month. Since September 2020, China has amplified its use of grey zone tactics by incrementally increasing the number of military aircraft and naval ships operating around Taiwan. (ANI)

ALSO READ: China urges Philippines to ease South China Sea tensions

Previous Story

Japan-Australia defence cooperation pact to take effect

Next Story

‘Strengthening multilateral development banks primary focus of G20’

Latest from -Top News

Pakistan Blames Kabul for Jaffar Express Attack

The Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan has stated that the intercepted calls confirmed links between the attackers and Afghanistan…reports Asian Lite News Pakistan continues to accuse Afghanistan of orchestrating the

Trump confident of annexing Greenland

Speaking to reporters during a meeting with Rutte at the White House, Trump said the US needs Greenland for “international security” and hinted at future discussions on the matter President Donald Trump

US condemns Jaffar Express attack, vows support

Lt Gen Sharif Chaudhry, Pakistan’s military spokesperson, confirmed the completion of the operation, stating that all 33 militants involved had been killed The United States has strongly condemned the terrorist attack on
Go toTop

Don't Miss

China, Pakistan include Afghanistan in BRI

Reports said that the Taliban has agreed with China and

HRW laments China for ‘atrocities’ in Xinjiang

The statement by the HRW came on the second anniversary