US Says China ‘Manufactured’ Crisis
China’s actions in the Taiwan Strait are “manufactured” and “completely unnecessary,” Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl said Monday during a press briefing at the Pentagon.
Kahl said the US has not changed its support of the One China policy, nor do US officials believe China will take Taiwan over militarily in the next few years.
“We don’t support China using its military actions against Taiwan. We don’t support Taiwan moving towards independence. Our policy has not changed its support for the status quo. China’s policy is what’s changed,” Kahl said, adding that China is trying to “salami-slice their way into a new status quo.”
China is “trying to coerce” both Taiwan and the international community, Kahl said.
“All I’ll say is, we’re not going to take the bait, and it’s not going to work,” he said. “It’s a manufactured crisis. That doesn’t mean we have to play into that. I think it would only play to Beijing’s advantage.”
Kahl was asked about the developing situation between China and Taiwan several times during the Monday briefing. He reiterated the Defense Department’s support of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last week, which prompted China’s last several days of military exercises in the Taiwan Strait.
China “clearly” was not “happy” with Pelosi’s visit, Kahl said, but “nothing about the visit changed one iota of the US government’s policy toward Taiwan or toward China.”
Kahl said China’s reaction to Pelosi’s Taiwan visit was not surprising. Pelosi “had every right” to go to Taiwan, Kahl said, adding that the Department of Defense was committed to providing Pelosi with “the support required” once she confirmed that the trip was happening.
After Pelosi traveled to Taiwan, Kahl said China carried out missile exercises and other live fire demonstrations. China also boosted its air and naval military activities in the Strait, he said.
Kahl declined to say whether Chinese aircraft or missiles have flown over Taiwan, saying those answers depended on the lock and trajectory of each object and that he did not “have the physics of it” in front of him in that moment.