The Biden administration postponed a long-planned test of an Air Force Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile to avoid escalating tensions with Beijing during China's show of force near Taiwan, national security spokesperson John Kirby told a briefing on Thursday.
China deployed scores of planes and fired live missiles in the Taiwan Strait on Thursday, a day after U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a trip to the self-ruled island. China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has never renounced using force to bring it under its control.
The U.S. Air Force had planned to conduct the test launch this week, Kirby said, but it will now be rescheduled for a date, without saying when exactly, in the near future.
