China issued a blistering condemnation of Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan on Tuesday after reportedly sending fighter jets to buzz the Taiwan Strait.
Chinese state media station TV CGTN reported SU-35 fighter jets had crossed into the contested sea between the two countries hours before the House Speaker touched down in Taiwan just before 11pm local time on Tuesday.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a furious statement labelling the visit “extremely dangerous” and saying the US was “playing with fire”, according to AFP news agency.
“Those who play with fire will perish by it,” the statement from Beijing said.
The Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense later refuted claims that the Chinese fighter jets had crossed the Taiwan Strait, and urged people not to spread the information.
Ms Pelosi landed in Taipei‘s Taiwan Songshan Airport on a US military flight from Malaysia with a congressional delegation on Tuesday evening.
The visit has inflamed tensions between the two superpowers.
China had repeatedly warned the House Speaker not to travel to Taiwan, while US officials said it would not be intimidated by “sabre rattling”.
Along with claiming to have sent fighter jets into the Taiwan Strait, Chinese warships “squeezed” up against the median line dividing the contested waters, a source told Reuters.
The source said the aircraft had conducted tactical manouvres before circling back to the Chinese mainland, as Taiwanese aircraft waited on standby, Reuters reported.
In an op-ed in the Washington Post timed to coincide with her arrival, Ms Pelosi wrote that the US had made a “solemn vow” to support the defence of Taiwan.
“Today, America must remember that vow. We must stand by Taiwan, which is an island of resilience,” Ms Pelosi wrote.
“We cannot stand by as the (Chinese Communist Party) proceeds to threaten Taiwan — and democracy itself.”
China has purchased $2bn worth of the Russian-made Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets in recent years, according to Reuters.
