Page 30 - bon-dia-aruba-20220806

A30 world news
Diasabra 6 augustus 2022

China halts climate, military ties over Pelosi Taiwan visit

(AP) — China announced tan island, a popular scenic
Friday it was ending all spot in China's Fujian prov-
contact with the United ince.
States on major issues —
including crucial climate Pelosi's visit stirred emotions
cooperation that led to among the Chinese public,
the international 2015 and the government's re-
Paris accord — as tensions sponse "makes us feel our
and public rebukes ratch- motherland is very powerful
eted higher over House and gives us confidence that
Speaker Nancy Pelosi's the return of Taiwan is the
visit to Taiwan. irresistible trend," said Wang
Lu, a tourist from neighbor-
China's move to freeze key ing Zhejiang province.
lines of communication adds
to a rapid souring of relations China is a "powerful country
from Pelosi's visit and from and it will not allow anyone
the Chinese response with to offend its own territory,"
military exercises off Taiwan, said Liu Bolin, a high school
including firing missiles that student visiting the island.
splashed down in surround-
ing waters. China's insistence that Tai-
wan is its territory and its
The White House sum- threat to use force to reclaim
moned China's ambassador, control have featured in rul-
Qin Gang, late Thursday to ing Communist Party state-
tell him that the military ac- a series of steps intended to improvement in ties and rais- terparts over the dispute. ments, the education system
tions were of "concern to punish the U.S. for allowing es the risk of misunderstand- Calling China's actions "pro- and the state-controlled me-
Taiwan, to us and to our part- the visit to the island it claims ings and a larger crisis. vocative," he added, "We also dia for more than seven de-
ners around the world," said as its own territory, to be an- made clear that the United cades since the sides were di-
spokesman John Kirby. nexed by force if necessary. China stopped short of inter- States is prepared for what vided amid civil war in 1949.
China on Thursday launched rupting economic and trade Beijing chooses to do."
Ominously, experts in Chi- threatening military exercises talks, where it is looking to Taiwan residents overwhelm-
na-U.S. relations warned that in six zones just off Taiwan's Biden to lift tariffs imposed China's actions come ahead ingly favor maintaining the
China's diplomatic and mili- coasts, and they will run by President Donald Trump of a key congress of the ruling status quo of de facto inde-
tary moves appeared to go through Sunday. on imports from China. Communist Party later this pendence and reject China's
beyond retaliatory measures year at which President Xi demands that the island unify
for the visit and could open a China sent some missiles fly- A joint U.S.-China deal to is expected to obtain a third with the mainland under
new, more openly hostile era, ing over Taiwan itself, Chi- fight climate change struck five-year term as party leader. Communist control.
and a more uncertain time nese officials told state media. by Xi and then-President With the economy stum-
for Taiwan's democratic gov- China routinely criticizes the Barack Obama in Novem- bling, the party has stoked Beyond Taiwan, five of the
ernment. self-governing island hav- ber of 2014 has frequently nationalism and issued near- missiles fired by China land-
ing its own contacts with been hailed as a turning point daily attacks on the govern- ed in Japan's Exclusive Eco-
China-U.S. relations are "in a foreign governments, but its that led to the landmark 2015 ment of Taiwanese President nomic Zone off Hateruma,
downward spiral," said Bon- response to the Pelosi visit — Paris agreement in which Tsai Ing-wen, which refuses an island far south of Japan's
nie Glaser, head of the Asia she was the highest-ranking nearly every nation in the to recognize Taiwan as part of main islands, Japanese De-
program at the German Mar- American official in 25 years world pledged to try to curb China. fense Minister Nobuo Kishi
shall Fund. —has been unusually strong. emissions of heat-trapping said. He said Japan protested
"And I think that China China's moves to cut off gases. Seven years later dur- China said Friday that more the missile landings to China
is likely to change the sta- communication with se- ing climate talks in Glasgow, than 100 warplanes and 10 as "serious threats to Japan's
tus quo in the Taiwan Strait nior officials are a cause for another U.S.-China deal warships have taken part in national security and the safe-
in ways that are going to be pessimism over chances of helped smooth over bumps the live-fire military drills ty of the Japanese people."
harmful to Taiwan and are Presidents Joe Biden and Xi to another international cli- surrounding Taiwan over
going to be disadvantageous Jinping and their top officials mate deal. the past two days, while an- In Tokyo, where Pelosi is
to the United States," Glaser managing to soothe the im- nouncing mainly symbolic winding up her Asia trip, she
said. mediate tensions. China and the United States sanctions against Pelosi and said China cannot stop U.S.
are the world's No. 1 and No. her family. officials from visiting Taiwan.
In recent years, other rounds They also appear to derail 2 climate polluters, together China said it summoned
of tensions between China a rare encouraging note — producing nearly 40% of all The Rocket Force also fired European diplomats in the
and its neighbors over the high-level in-person meet- fossil-fuel emissions. projectiles over Taiwan into country to protest statements
India border, regional islands ings between top officials in the Pacific, military officers issued by the Group of Seven
and the South China Sea recent months including the China's Foreign Ministry told state media, in a ma- industrialized nations and the
have ended with China as- defense chiefs at an Asia secu- said dialogue between U.S. jor ratcheting up of China's European Union criticizing
serting new territorial claims rity conference in Singapore and Chinese regional com- threats to attack and invade the Chinese military exercis-
and enforcing them, noted and Foreign Minister Wang manders and defense de- the island. es surrounding Taiwan.
John Culver, a former East Yi and Secretary of State Ant- partment heads would be On the Chinese coast across
Asia national intelligence of- ony Blinken at a Group of 20 canceled, along with talks on from Taiwan, tourists gath- Blinken on Friday called the
ficer, now a senior fellow at meeting in Indonesia. military maritime safety. Co- ered Friday to try to catch a drills a "significant escalation"
the Atlantic Council. The operation on returning illegal glimpse of any military air- and said he has urged Beijing
same could happen now over Those talks were viewed as immigrants, criminal investi- craft heading toward the ex- to back down.
Taiwan, Culver said. "So I a step in a positive direction gations, transnational crime, ercise area. Taiwan has put its military on
don't know how this ends. in an otherwise poisoned re- illegal drugs and climate alert and staged civil defense
We've seen how it begins." lationship. Now, talks have change will be suspended, Fighter jets could be heard drills, but the overall mood
been suspended even on cli- the ministry said. flying overhead and tourists remained calm on Friday.
China's measures, which mate, where the two coun- taking photos chanted, "Let's Flights have been canceled or
come amid cratering rela- tries' envoys had met mul- Kirby said that senior U.S. take Taiwan back," looking diverted and fishermen have
tions between Beijing and tiple times. That sets back officials have been meeting out into the blue waters of remained in port to avoid the
Washington, are the latest in what faint hopes exist for any regularly with Chinese coun- the Taiwan Strait from Ping- Chinese drills.