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China says military will 'not sit idly by' ahead of Nancy Pelosi's Taiwan visit

China says military will 'not sit idly by' ahead of Nancy Pelosi's Taiwan visit

Nancy Pelosi

Ahead of the US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan,China has warned the United States. On Monday (August 1)China said that its military will "not sit idly by". During a media briefing, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that because of Pelosi's status as the "No. 3 official of the US government", a visit to Taiwan would "lead to egregious political impact".

Lijian said, "If U.S. House of Representatives Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi goes to Taiwan, it will be a gross interference in China's internal affairs, seriously undermine China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, wantonly trample on the one-China principle."

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He implied that Pelosi's visit to Taiwan will "seriously threaten peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and seriously damage China-US relations, leading to very serious developments and consequences."

Although, it is not confirmed whether or not Pelosi will visit Taiwan but Taiwanese broadcaster TVBS reported citing sources that the US House of Representatives Speaker will arrive in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, tomorrow night.Pelosi kicked off the Asia tour in Singapore on Monday.

Lijian said, "We would like to tell the United States once again that China is standing by and the Chinese People's Liberation Army will never sit idly by, and that China will take resolute responses and strong countermeasures to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity."

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China has claimed Taiwan as its own territory since the Chinese civil war of the 1940s. China has even said that, in case needed, it will use force to unite the two sides.

On the other hand, the United States says it backs Taiwan's sovereignty. The island has its own constitution and leaders are elected democratically.

But concerns have been raised as in the past two-three years, China has increased the number of military flights into Taiwan's air defence identification zone at sea. China also accuses the US of supporting Taiwan's independence.

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