Tension Escalates In The Strait As CCP Conducts Military Drills Around Taiwan

China’s Ministry of National Defense on Monday defended the shelving of military-to-military talks with the United States in protest of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last week, and warned Washington must bear “serious consequences” for this.

Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last week enraged the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which considers the island as its territory, and conducted test launches of ballistic missiles over Taipei for the first time and has abandoned some lines of dialogue with Washington.

Wu Qian, the defense ministry spokesman of Communist China, said in an online post that the current tense situation in the Taiwan Strait is fully provoked and created by the U.S. side on its own initiative. Wu added that the bottom line cannot be broken, and communication requires sincerity.

The Ministry of National Defense of Taiwan said the CCP’s drills had used warships, aircraft and drones to simulate attacks on the island and its navy, and aircraft and ships had been dispatched to respond adequately.After Pelosi left the region on Friday, China called off formal talks involving theater-level commands, defense policy coordination and maritime military consultations.

Security analysts and diplomats expressed that China has cut off a handful of communications with the U.S. military, raising the risk of an accidental escalation of the Taiwan issue at a critical juncture.