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Pakistan on Tuesday reaffirmed its support for the “One China” Policy, as U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan amidst warnings by Beijing it considers the trip a “major” provocation.
“Pakistan reaffirms its strong commitment to ‘One China’ policy and firmly supports China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” read a Foreign Office statement. “Pakistan is deeply concerned over the evolving situation in the Taiwan Strait, which has serious implications for regional peace and stability,” it added.
Stressing that the world was already experiencing a volatile security situation due to the Ukraine conflict and its impact on food and energy security, the Foreign Office stressed the world could not afford another crisis that provokes consequences for global peace, security and economy.
“Pakistan strongly believes that inter-state relations should be based on mutual respect, non-interference in internal affairs, and peaceful resolution of issues by upholding of principles of U.N. charter, international law and bilateral agreements,” it added.
Earlier, Pelosi landed in Taiwan on Tuesday amidst several warnings from Beijing that it would consider the visit a major provocation. Informing the U.S. ambassador to China of “extremely serious consequences,” Beijing announced military drills around Taiwan. The drills, it said, would include “long-range live ammunition shooting” in the Taiwan Strait, which separates the island from mainland China and straddles vital shipping lanes. The zone of Chinese exercises would be within 20 kilometers of Taiwan’s shoreline at some points, according to coordinates released by the Chinese military.
Beijing also announced curbs on the import of fruit and fish from Taiwan, ostensibly over the detection of pesticide residue and the coronavirus, and halted shipments of sand to the island.
Pelosi, second in line to the presidency, is the highest-profile elected U.S. official to visit Taiwan in 25 years.