Japan tells China to stop military exercises around island

“By setting up this exercise area, China was able to get a glimpse of what it would take to blockade Taiwan,” he said.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who visited Taiwan this week, accused China of trying to isolate Taiwan, sparking the most serious military confrontation in the Taiwan Strait since the 1996 missile crisis.

“They won’t isolate Taiwan by preventing us from going there,” she said after meeting with Kishida on Friday. “They didn’t run our itinerary.”

Pelosi’s visit has sparked accusations from China of viewing Taiwan as a state of treason, but has also sparked wider pressure to deepen cooperation between the United States and Taiwan.

Vice Adm. Michael Boyle, commander of the U.S. Navy’s Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC), said Taiwan would be open to participate in the world’s largest military exercise if Washington extended an invitation to Taipei. .

“If given permission, we welcome other like-minded partners to join RIMPAC, so we welcome the opportunity for Taiwan to join us,” he said.

Earlier, the United States accused China of using Pelosi’s visit as an excuse to create a “fabricated crisis” in the region and said it would keep U.S. warships stationed nearby amid heightened tensions.

“But here’s the problem. We don’t have to do it. It shouldn’t be a blow,” said National Security Advisor John Kirby.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has accused the United States of violating international law and undermining peace in the Taiwan Strait by allowing Pelosi’s visit.

“This is a blatant provocation to the people of China and the peace-loving nations of the region,” he said.

Pelosi’s 18 Hours in Taipei and subsequent military exercises have stirred nationalist sentiment on the mainland, with internet users calling for the government to do more. 43.7 million views on Weibo.

“We have been yelling about measures for days, what kind of measures is this?” said one Weibo user.

Ren Yi, one of China’s most influential political commentators, said in a now-deleted post that the Chinese public would be disappointed if they didn’t see more decisive action after high expectations. said he would.

“This could be demoralizing and undermine confidence in the government,” he said.

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Australia’s response to the crisis has so far been cautiously bipartisan, but James Patterson, spokesman for the Opposition to Counter Foreign Interference, said China’s “grossly unbalanced stance” in the Taiwan Strait has ” suggested that the Labor government should do more to criticize the training.

“I would like to urge the government to consider calling on China to exercise restraint, as it has done in the past,” he told ABC radio on Friday.