China warns it will be even more aggressive if Taiwan president meets US Speaker

China has warned Taiwan that it will take even more aggressive “counter measures” than last summer’s unprecedented military drills if the island’s president meets with a senior American politician as planned next month.

US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is set to hold talks with Tsai Ing-wen, the Taiwanese leader, in California in April, when she is due to speak at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library while en route to Central America on an official trip.

Speculation over a possible visit by Mr McCarthy to Taiwan has angered Beijing, which claims the island nation as its territory. It appears a meeting has been arranged in the US instead, reportedly to avoid further tensions with China.

But Mr McCarthy has not ruled out a trip to Taiwan later this year, telling reporters on Tuesday when asked: “China can’t tell me where and when I can go.”

Chinese state media on Wednesday warned that such meetings, no matter where they took place, would be considered a serious affront by Beijing.

Mr McCarthy’s actions “will inevitably cause new tensions across the Taiwan strait, and China’s countermeasures may be even more decisive than those seen during [former US House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi’s last visit to the island,” Chinese state media said on Wednesday.

China staged wide-scale military drills last August when Ms Pelosi touched down in Taipei and met Ms Tsai, including shooting missiles over the island in a show of force.

High-profile meetings between officials from Taiwan and other nations have always angered the Chinese government. Beijing views them as a direct challenge to its claims of sovereignty, even though the ruling Chinese Communist Party has never controlled Taiwan.

Nations toe the line

For the most part, many nations have toed the line to avoid upsetting Beijing, including refusing to establish formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

But concerns over an increasingly belligerent and bellicose China – especially when it comes to Taiwan – has worried the US and other Western nations.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has vowed to “reunify” mainland China with Taiwan, even if it means resorting to force, as part of his plan for “national rejuvenation.”

Qin Gang, China’s foreign minister, reiterated this week that the issue of Taiwan was a “red line that cannot be crossed,” and blamed the US for worsening bilateral tensions by challenging Beijing over the island nation.