LIVE: US Speaker Nancy Pelosi says America will not abandon Taiwan amid raising tension with China - becomes highest-ranking American official to visit self-ruled island
LIVE: Nancy Pelosi Taiwan Visit: US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday met Taiwan`s President Tsai Ing-wen. She told Tsai Ing-wen that the United States will not abandon the island nation. This is the first visit by a top American official to Taiwan in more than two decades. "Now more than ever, America`s solidarity with Taiwan is crucial", Pelosi told Tsai, adding that America`s determination to preserve democracy in Taiwan and the rest of the world remains iron-clad. Pelosi on Tuesday arrived here amid escalating tensions with China, which claims the self-ruled island as its own territory. Pelosi is on an Asian tour this week.
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LIVE: Nancy Pelosi Taiwan Visit: US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday met Taiwan`s President Tsai Ing-wen. She told Tsai Ing-wen that the United States will not abandon the island nation. This is the first visit by a top American official to Taiwan in more than two decades. "Now more than ever, America`s solidarity with Taiwan is crucial", Pelosi told Tsai, adding that America`s determination to preserve democracy in Taiwan and the rest of the world remains iron-clad. Pelosi on Tuesday arrived here amid escalating tensions with China, which claims the self-ruled island as its own territory. Pelosi is on an Asian tour this week.
Here are all the LIVE Updates, latest news:-
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Taiwan President's Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday thanked visiting U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her concrete actions to support Taiwan at this critical moment and said the island will not back down in the face of heightened military threats. The pair met in Taipei on Wednesday as part of Pelosi`s visit to the island which has drawn fierce criticism from China, and has prompted Beijing to announce a raft of military exercises and summon the U.S. ambassador.
Taiwan`s cabinet on Wednesday said the military has increased its alertness level and authorities will make plans to ensure safety and stability around the island, after China announced a series of military exercises in response to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi`s arrival in Taipei. Taiwan`s cabinet also said its citizens should feel reassured and that a national stabilisation fund for the stock market will closely watch the situation and react in a timely manner.
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Taiwan`s President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday that her visit to the island makes it unequivocally clear that the United States will not abandon Taiwan.
China had warned of resolute and strong measures if Pelosi went ahead with the trip.
Pelosi's visit has triggered increased tensions between China and the United States. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, to be annexed by force if necessary, and views visits by foreign government officials as recognition of the island's sovereignty.
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday night, becoming the highest-ranking American official to visit the self-ruled island that is claimed by China in 25 years.
Website of Taiwan''s presidential office receives overseas cyber attack - source
The website of Taiwan's presidential office received an overseas cyber attack on Tuesday and was at one point malfunctioning, a source briefed on the matter said.
The website was shortly brought back online, the source told Reuters. U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi was expected to arrive in Taipei later on Tuesday, people briefed on the matter said, as frictions rose across the sensitive Taiwan Strait.
On Thursday, Pelosi is to meet with South Korean National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin Pyo in Seoul for talks on security in the Indo-Pacific region, economic cooperation and the climate crisis, according to Kim's office.
China has been steadily ratcheting up diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan. China cut off all contact with Taiwan's government in 2016 after President Tsai Ing-wen refused to endorse its claim that the island and mainland together make up a single Chinese nation, with the Communist regime in Beijing being the sole legitimate government.
The Philippines urged the U.S. And China to be ?responsible actors" in the region. It is important for the U.S. And China to ensure continuing communication to avoid any miscalculation and further escalation of tensions," said Foreign Affairs spokesperson Teresita Daza.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong ?highlighted the importance of stable U.S.-China relations for regional peace and security during talks with Pelosi, the city-state's Foreign Ministry said. This was echoed by Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi in Tokyo, who said stable ties between the two rival powers are extremely important for the international community as well.
Pelosi kicked off her Asian tour in Singapore on Monday as her possible visit to Taiwan sparked jitters in the region.
Beijing sees official American contact with Taiwan as encouragement to make the island's decades-old de facto independence permanent, a step U.S. Leaders say they don't support. Pelosi, head of one of three branches of the U.S. Government, would be the highest-ranking elected American official to visit Taiwan since then-Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1997.
Taiwan and China split in 1949 after the Communists won a civil war on the mainland. The U.S. Maintains informal relations and defense ties with Taiwan even as it recognizes Beijing as the government of China.
The carrier has an array of aircraft, including F/A-18 fighter jets and helicopters, on board as well as sophisticated radar systems and other weapons.