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China’s military operations around Taiwan after Pelosi visit show intent to change status quo: US

  • ‘Beijing’s provocative actions are a significant escalation in its long-standing attempt to change the status quo’, says senior American official
  • Previously planned Minuteman III missile test in California pushed back to avoid escalating tension, John Kirby adds

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A People’s Liberation Army warplane refuels mid-air as part of military exercises around Taiwan on Thursday. Photo: Xinhua
Mainland China’s military operations around Taiwan in retaliation for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island represent an effort by Beijing to change a status quo in the region that has held for decades, the US government said on Thursday.
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The People’s Liberation Army’s encirclement of Taiwan for a round of unprecedented live-fire military drills has prompted the US Department of Defence to leave some of its Navy fleet in the area “to monitor the situation” and to postpone a missile test.

“Beijing’s provocative actions are a significant escalation in its long-standing attempt to change the status quo,” National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said at a White House press briefing on Thursday.

“We’re not going to accept a new status quo,” Kirby added. “It’s not just the United States, but the world will reject it as well.”

White House condemns Chinese missile launches over Taiwan as ‘significant escalation’
Within hours of Pelosi’s departure from Taiwan on Wednesday, China launched an estimated 11 ballistic missiles towards the waters surrounding the island, while the Japanese government reported that five of the missiles landed in its exclusive economic zone.
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