Chinese FM condemns ‘deplorable betrayal’ by US over Taiwan

(Update 1: releads with foreign minister’s remarks, alters headline)

Beijing, Aug 2 (EFE).- China’s foreign minister Wang Yi on Tuesday condemned the “deplorable betrayal” of the United States amid reports that Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the US House, would visit Taiwan.

The behavior of the US “will damage its credibility at the international level,” Wang said, according to the foreign ministry.

“The ‘one China’ principle is a consensus of the international community” and the “political foundation of China’s relations with other countries,” Wang said.

The principle, under which Beijing claims sovereignty over the self-governing island, is a “red line” for the Asian giant, he added.

Several people in the United States are “challenging China’s sovereignty on the Taiwan issue,” which “will never be accepted by the Chinese people and the international community,” Wang said.

His remarks follow similar statements by Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying, who said it was “hard to imagine anything more reckless and provocative than” Pelosi’s proposed trip to Taiwan.

The US handling the delicate situation improperly, according to Hua, would have “disastrous consequences,” not just for Taiwan but also for the “prosperity and security of the whole world.”

Pelosi kicked off her high-profile four-nation Asian tour Monday with her first stopover in Singapore. She left for Malaysia on Tuesday, and her next flights are to South Korea and Japan.

Taiwan is not mentioned in Pelosi’s travel agenda, but Taiwanese and American media have widely reported that she will visit the self-governed island on Tuesday night, despite the stern warnings from Beijing.

China’s military and civilian officials have warned of potential consequences if Pelosi visits the island which Beijing claims as a breakaway territory.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken Monday told reporters that Pelosi would “make her own decisions about whether or not to visit Taiwan.”

“If the Speaker does decide to visit, and China tries to create some kind of crisis or otherwise escalate tensions, that would be entirely on Beijing,” Blinken warned.

But Hua refused to accept that the visit could be viewed as independent of the US government.

“When the House speaker, being the third-highest ranking figure in the US government, flies on a US military plane to make a provocative visit to the Taiwan region, it is certainly not unofficial behavior,” Hua said.

She warned that any countermeasures from Beijing would be “justified” in response to such an “unscrupulous behavior.”

Hua warned that China would take “strong and resolute measures” to safeguard its sovereignty if Pelosi carried on down the “wrong path.”

“The US should give up any attempt to play the Taiwan card,” she said.

Tensions across the Taiwan Straits have escalated drastically with increasing military activities from the Chinese and Taiwanese sides.

In the past, China has responded to visits by foreign officials with an increased number of air sorties into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone or across the median line that divides the strait.