( Post Millennial )
China announced Friday that it was halting all dialogue with the United States on military relations, climate change, and other major issues as retribution for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan on August 2.
According to CBS News, the Chinese foreign ministry said their country's leadership canceled a scheduled phone call and two security meetings with US officials because of Pelosi's "disregard of China's strong opposition and stern representations" regarding Taiwan.
Sanctions have also been imposed on Pelosi by the government in Beijing.
On August 4, just one day after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi left Taiwan, the Chinese Communist Party claimed it successfully executed "precision missile strikes" in the Taiwan Strait.
The Associated Press reports that China has continued military drills in the region for a second straight day as fighters, bombers, destroyers and frigates were all used in joint blockage operations across six zones off the Taiwanese coast.
China's People's Liberation Army has now amassed over 100 warplanes, 10 warships, and one nuclear-powered submarine in the area.
Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said five of China's missiles landed in Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone off Hateruma, an island far south of Japan’s main islands and said the move created "serious threats to Japan’s national security and the safety of the Japanese people."
National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said in a statement, "We condemned the PRC's (People's Republic of China) military actions, which are irresponsible, at odds with our long-standing goal of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait."
Kirby continued that the US "is prepared for what Beijing chooses to do. We will not seek and do not want a crisis" while "nothing has changed about our one China policy."
Taiwan claims to be an autonomously governed entity while the People's Republic of China claims Taiwan as its own, and refuses diplomatic relations with countries that recognize Taiwan. This stance by the CCP is often referred to as a "One China policy," something the US has supported since 1972 and Kirby parroted in his statement.
Peter Doocy of Fox News asked Kirby on Thursday why Biden hadn't simply called Chinese President Xi Jinping about the escalating crisis, since he had more free time while in Covid isolation.
Kirby said Doocy's question was "insulting."