US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday said that US "will not allow China to isolate Taiwan," news agency ANI reported. She made the statements in Tokyo, the concluding stop on an Asia tour that included a visit to Taiwan, which enraged China.
"They may try to keep Taiwan from visiting or participating in other places but they'll not isolate Taiwan by preventing us to travel there...We will not allow them to isolate Taiwan. They're not doing our travel schedule, the Chinese Govt is not doing that," she was quoted by ANI on its official Twitter handle.
Pelosi, the first House speaker to visit Taiwan in 25 years, said in Taipei on Wednesday that the United States' commitment to democracy in Taiwan and abroad "remains unbreakable," PTI reported.
Speaking about US-Taiwan relations, Pelosi said, "Our friendship with Taiwan is a strong one, it is bipartisan and the House and the Senate's overwhelming support for peace & status quo in Taiwan."
Highlighting her visit to Taiwan, Pelosi stated, "The Chinese made their strikes, probably using our visit as an excuse. They've tried to isolate Taiwan, keeping them most recently from World Health Org by not even letting their participation beyond their agency of World Health Agency that makes these determinations."
After touring Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, and South Korea, Pelosi and five other members of Congress landed in Tokyo late Thursday.
China, which claims Taiwan and has threatened to conquer it militarily if necessary, labelled her visit to the island a provocation and launched military manoeuvres, including missile fire, in six zones around Taiwan on Thursday.
After five ballistic missiles launched as part of the drills fell in Japan's exclusive economic zone, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned Friday that China's military exercises targeted at Taiwan pose a "grave problem" that threatens regional peace and security.
After brunch with US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her legislative delegation, Kishida stated that the missile launches must be "stopped immediately."
China, which claims Taiwan and has threatened to annex it by force if necessary, called Pelosi's visit to the self-ruled island earlier this week a provocation and began military exercises, including missile strike training, in six zones surrounding Taiwan on Thursday, in what could be the largest since the mid-1990s.
On Wednesday in Taipei, Pelosi stated that the United States' commitment to democracy in Taiwan and abroad "remains unbreakable."
She was the first House speaker in 25 years to visit the island.
Five missiles fell in Japan's exclusive economic zone near Hateruma, an island far south of Japan's major islands, according to Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi.
(With Inputs From Agencies)