MNI BRIEF: US Fully Responsible For Provoking China On Taiwan

The U.S. should take full responsibility for provocative actions that escalate tensions across the Taiwan Strait, the Global Times reported Hua Chunying, spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, saying at a briefing on Tuesday against a backdrop of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's planned visit to Taiwan.

According to the Global Times, Hua said China opposes any such visit, and all U.S. government departments including the executive, legislative and judicial, should implement foreign policy as committed to by the U.S. government, which recognizes the People's Republic of China as the sole legitimate government of China.

This includes the U.S. Congress, and if Speaker Pelosi travels to Taiwan on an American military plane, this is by no means an unofficial act, said Hua. Washington's support of the separatist forces in Taiwan is pressing China's red line, and any countermeasures taken by China will be justified and necessary, according to Hua.