China military gives warning to US on Pelosi visit to Taiwan

Tan Kefei, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks in response to a press inquiry regarding the issue, Xinhua reported.

China demands that the United States honor its promise that it would not support "Taiwan independence," Tan said, adding that if the US side insists on making such a visit, the Chinese military will take strong actions to thwart any external interference or "Taiwan independence" separatist scheme, and will be resolute in safeguarding China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Chinese side has repeatedly made clear to the United States its firm opposition to Pelosi's potential visit to Taiwan, Tan noted.

"If Speaker Pelosi visits Taiwan, it would seriously violate the one-China principle and the stipulations in the three China-US joint communique, seriously harm China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and seriously damage the political foundation of China-US relations," Tan said.

It will inevitably result in extremely serious damage to the relations between the two countries and the two militaries, and lead to further escalation of the tensions across the Taiwan Strait, the spokesperson said.

RHM/PR