Colin Kohl emphasizes that the US position remains unchanged.
The US Armed Forces intend to continue operating in the Taiwan Strait, Washington will continue to support allies in the Asia-Pacific region. This was stated at a briefing by US Deputy Secretary of Defense for Political Affairs Colin Kohl, CNN reports.
“This is an artificially created crisis. And this does not mean that we should play it, I think it will only be in Beijing's hands. Instead, we will continue to operate in air and sea space and wherever international law allows, including the Taiwan Strait. And we will continue to support our allies and partners in the region,” he said.
According to him, the recent visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan is not unusual.
As Kohl emphasized, the United States still adheres to the principle of “one China” and opposes “any unilateral change of the status quo by both the PRC and Taiwan”.
He is convinced that the PRC's reaction was “totally unnecessary”.
“It is obvious that the PRC is trying to provoke Taiwan, to provoke the world community. We will not take the bait, it will not work,” the Pentagon representative said.
“We do not support the PRC's military actions against Taiwan, nor do we support Taiwan's movement towards independence. Our policy has not changed, we support the status quo -quo,” he added.
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As reported, the Pentagon decided to leave the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier near Taiwan “to monitor the situation”, as China plans to launch missiles in this region as part of military exercises.
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In addition, the US postponed the test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile Minuteman III to avoid escalating tensions with Beijing.
