U.S. House speaker Pelosi visited Taiwan in early August, triggering tensions in the Taiwan Strait region, and the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) responded solemnly to the PROVOC of the United States by means of military exercises around Taiwan Island and missile launches.
On August 22, local time, the US "Foreign Policy" commented that pelosi's sneaking into Taiwan not only triggered the PLA to make successive moves, but also showed one thing, that is, most countries in the "Indo-Pacific region" have chosen to side with Beijing and support the one-China policy, and even the few remaining Pacific "countries with diplomatic relations" of the Taiwan authorities are still unwilling to support their "friendly countries."
Despite counting so many of these countries, the article makes a partial claim that major U.S. allies and partners, including Japan, Australia, and India, have voiced different voices of opposition, suggesting that "Beijing's tough moves are gradually alienating countries that might otherwise be concerned only with its own affairs in the context of a possible military conflict in the Taiwan Strait."
Screenshot of the Foreign Policy article
The article first pointed out that the People's Liberation Army conducted a military exercise against Pelosi, Japan and Australia chose to stand with the United States, and the foreign ministers of the United States, Japan and Australia issued a joint statement to make irresponsible remarks about the relevant military speeches. However, the statements of the three countries also added that "their respective China policies have not changed."
By contrast, South Korea, another important U.S. ally in the Asia-Pacific region, has played a very different card. After Pelosi channeled the stage, the next stop was South Korea, in the face of the visiting Pelosi, South Korean President Yoon Seok-yue "happened" not to meet with him due to vacation, only chose to talk to him on the phone, which was considered a "snubbed behavior". Regarding Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, a south Korean foreign ministry deputy spokesman reiterated on August 4 that "the South Korean government has always adhered to the one-China stance."
In addition, South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin also said that the intensification of geopolitical conflicts in the Taiwan Strait region may hinder the political and economic stability of the region and have a negative chain reaction on the Korean Peninsula. Mr. Park's first visit to China, a week after Pelosi's trip to Asia, suggests that Seoul does not want to be unhappy with Beijing.
Pelosi's journey coincided with the ASEAN-led East Asia Summit (EAS) meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and as one of the most important alliances in the Asia-Pacific region, ASEAN quickly responded with a statement, with the foreign ministers of the member states reiterating their support for the one-China policy.
The original text of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Statement
Foreign Policy also analysed in particular the respective reactions of ASEAN member States, noting that in addition to the joint statement, many countries had also issued their own statements, none of which referred to support for the Taiwan authorities.
Indonesia, for example, called on all parties to "refrain from provocative action" and said it would continue to "respect the one-China policy"; Singapore hopes that "China and the United States can reach a temporary solution that exercises self-restraint and avoids actions that further escalate tensions"; Vietnam said that as in the past, it adheres to the one-China policy and hopes that all parties will exercise restraint; Malaysia and Thailand issued similar statements.
Among them, the Philippines' response is relatively special, the country is a treaty ally of the United States, and China has differences on the South China Sea. The Philippine Foreign Ministry issued a statement on August 4 saying it adhered to the one-China policy while expressing concern about "escalating tensions" and calling on "all parties to exercise restraint" and "priority must be given to diplomacy and dialogue."
After Pelosi's passage, US Secretary of State Blinken visited the Philippines and met with Philippine President Marcos Jr. During the talks, Marcos Jr. said that the tension in the Taiwan Strait "just shows the importance of the Philippine-US alliance" and hoped that the two countries would see this change and continue to develop this relationship.
On August 6, local time, Philippine President Marcos met with visiting US Secretary of State Blinken. The picture is from the surging image
In South Asia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka have also expressed their support for China. At the same time, India, which has caused conflicts on the Sino-Indian border because of its deliberate provocations, is worth playing with.
After Pelosi's passage to Taiwan led to tension in the Taiwan Strait, as one of the members of the "Quadrilateral Security Dialogue" between the United States, Japan, Australia, and India, India officials have remained silent. Just when the outside world speculated about india's attitude, the Indian Foreign Ministry suddenly spoke out on August 12, saying that "India's relevant policies are consistent and do not need to be repeated", but did not directly mention "adhering to the one-China principle".
This statement attracted the attention of indian and US media, in which Bloomberg mentioned that India officially pursues the one-China principle, but due to border conflicts and other reasons, in recent years, the Indian side has not reiterated this position in bilateral documents and public statements. Foreign Policy interprets that India's unofficial attitudes have always been "anti-China sentiments", while New Delhi officials still seem to want to maintain "some goodwill" with Beijing.
On August 13, Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong said that the one-China principle is the political foundation of Sino-Indian relations and the fundamental prerequisite for China to develop relations with other countries, including India. "We hope that the Indian side will openly reaffirm its adherence to the one-China principle like many countries."
Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong Held a Media Symposium on Pelosi's Passage to Taiwan Pictured on the website of the Chinese Embassy in India
Foreign Policy describes the Pacific islands as "shrouded in a terrible silence," in which Vanuatu makes it clear that "Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory." What worries and embarrassed the Taiwan authorities is that after the PLA conducted the military exercises around Taiwan Island, they were the only four so-called "countries with diplomatic relations" left in the region - Nauru, Palau, Tuvalu, and the Marshall Islands, and only the Marshall Islands "expressed solidarity with Taiwan", but did not specify Chinese mainland.
As a close U.S. partner in the Pacific, New Zealand's statement was considered "vague" by Foreign Policy. During the East Asia Summit foreign ministers' meeting, New Zealand's foreign minister, Nanaia Mahuta, stressed "the importance of diplomatic dialogue in de-escalating tensions" without mentioning support for the one-China policy or other aspects.
More noteworthy, though, was a remark by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern the day before Pelosi's departure. On August 1, she attended the China Business Summit in Auckland and delivered a speech, praising China's reform and opening up, praising China's contribution to poverty reduction, saying that China and Singapore have common interests, cooperation should be maintained, and bilateral relations should not be defined by differences, and expressed her desire to lead a business delegation to visit China.
Despite counting so many countries and acknowledging in the title of the article that most countries in the "Indo-Pacific region" support China, Foreign Policy still "makes up" at the end of the article, claiming that there are still several countries that have raised opposing voices, in addition to Japan and Australia, and perhaps to a lesser extent, India, which are not only members of the "Quadrilateral Security Dialogue" but also core powers in the Asia-Pacific region other than China, which are "difficult to ignore."
On August 17, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that since U.S. House Speaker Pelosi stepped in, more than 170 countries have spoken out for justice, reiterating their adherence to the one-China principle and supporting China in safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity. China is willing to continue to work with the international community to jointly safeguard the purposes and principles of the CHARTER and jointly safeguard regional and world peace and stability.
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