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Editorial U.S. Calls on PRC to Exercise Restraint in Taiwan Strait
The People’s Republic of China, or PRC, carried out large-scale military exercises on October 14, including flying a record number of fighter jets and other warplanes around Taiwan and its outlying islands. Beijing said its military drills were intended as a “stern warning” to independence forces in Taiwan.
The drills came four days after Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said in an annual speech marking National Day that China has no right to represent Taiwan and declared his commitment to “resist annexation or encroachment” in the face of challenges from Beijing.
The one-day military exercises, which involved simulating a blockade of the self-governing island, was condemned by Taiwan as an “unreasonable provocation.”
U.S. Department of Defense Press Secretary Major General Pat Ryder in a statement called the PRC’s military operation “irresponsible, disproportionate, and destabilizing.”
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller in a statement expressed serious concern over “the People’s Liberation Army joint military drills in the Taiwan Strait and around Taiwan. The PRC[’s] response with military provocations to a routine annual speech [marking National Day] is unwarranted and risks escalation.”
Mr. Miller called on the PRC “to act with restraint and to avoid any further actions that may undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the broader region, which is essential to regional peace and prosperity and a matter of international concern. We continue to monitor PRC activities and coordinate with allies and partners regarding our shared concerns.”
“Deterrence remains strong in the Indo-Pacific,” stressed Major General Ryder, “and the [U.S. Defense] Department remains confident in its current force posture and operations in the region. The entire world has a stake in peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait . . . . We will continue to work with allies and partners to advance our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific, despite the PRC's destabilizing behavior.”
The United States remains committed to its longstanding one China policy, guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the three Joint Communiqués, and the Six Assurances.