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EU foreign policy chief decries China’s responses to Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan trip

  • Fallout continues from US House Speaker’s stop in Taipei, as Beijing announces sanctions, suspends climate dialogue and continues aggressive military exercises
  • EU’s Josep Borrell tells Asean forum that PLA actions are ‘highly worrying developments that lead to destabilisation and risk escalation’

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EU High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell speaking at the Asean Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Thursday. Photo: AFP

In his first significant public remarks on the mounting crisis in the Taiwan Strait, the European Union’s chief diplomat described China’s firing of ballistic missiles over Taiwan and into Japan’s exclusive economic zone as “highly worrying developments that lead to destabilisation and risk escalation”.

Speaking at the Asean Regional Forum in Cambodia, Josep Borrell, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said that “nobody should unilaterally change the status quo by force”.

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Taiwanese president calls mainland China military exercises ‘irresponsible’ as PLA missiles fly

Taiwanese president calls mainland China military exercises ‘irresponsible’ as PLA missiles fly

“We need to resolve cross-strait differences by peaceful means,” he added.

Borrell called on “all parties to remain calm, to exercise restraint, to act with transparency and to maintain open lines of communication to prevent any miscalculations that could lead to tragic consequences”, reflecting concerns in Europe that the situation could spiral further.

Borrell’s address to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations came amid an escalating geopolitical crisis that began when US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan despite repeated warnings from Beijing.

Beijing regards Taiwan, a self-governing island with 23 million residents, as a rogue province that will eventually be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary.

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