ASEAN Warns of ‘Open Conflict’ Among Major Powers Amid Cross-Strait Tensions Over Pelosi’s Visit
07:45 GMT 04.08.2022 (Updated: 12:44 GMT 19.06.2023)
© AP Photo / Heng SinithCORRECTS CAMBODIAN FIRST NAME TO PRAK, INSTEAD OF PEAK - Foreign ministers including Yoshimasa Hayashi of Japan, from fifth left, Park Jin of South Korea, Prak Sokhonn of Cambodia and Wang Yi of China, stand for a group photo during the ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Phnom Penh in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022
![CORRECTS CAMBODIAN FIRST NAME TO PRAK, INSTEAD OF PEAK - Foreign ministers including Yoshimasa Hayashi of Japan, from fifth left, Park Jin of South Korea, Prak Sokhonn of Cambodia and Wang Yi of China, stand for a group photo during the ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Phnom Penh in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022 CORRECTS CAMBODIAN FIRST NAME TO PRAK, INSTEAD OF PEAK - Foreign ministers including Yoshimasa Hayashi of Japan, from fifth left, Park Jin of South Korea, Prak Sokhonn of Cambodia and Wang Yi of China, stand for a group photo during the ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Phnom Penh in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022 - Sputnik International, 1920, 04.08.2022](https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/08/04/1098101466_0:0:3072:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_20d5c3b35fc80765af3d2ca5aacd3116.jpg)
© AP Photo / Heng Sinith
Subscribe
Beijing has hit out at the US for introducing the Taiwan issue into its “regional strategy”, saying that Washington’s policy will stoke tensions. Soon after landing in Phnom Penh to attend ASEAN meetings, Chinese FM Wang Yi described Pelosi’s Taiwan visit as a “farce” and said that Taiwan would eventually be re-united with the mainland.
The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has warned that “volatility” in the Taiwan Strait could lead to “miscalculation” and even “open conflicts” among major powers, according to a statement released on Thursday.
“ASEAN calls for maximum restraint, a refrain from provocative action and for the upholding of the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter and the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC),” the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN nations said.
The top diplomats from the southeast Asian nations also reaffirmed their government’s commitment to the One-China policy.
The group further said that it is ready to play a “constructive role in facilitating peaceful dialogue” among all parties in order to “de-escalate” the cross-strait tensions and secure “peace and stability.”
The foreign ministers of the southeast Asian bloc have convened in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh for the 55th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM), the ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference (PMC), the 12th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (EAS FMM), and several other multilateral events.
The PMC is scheduled to be attended by top diplomats from ASEAN and its 11 dialogue partners: Australia, Canada, China, the European Union (EU), India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
The meetings would bring Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US State Secretary Antony Blinken under one roof in the wake of escalating military tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
The ASEAN-related conferences takes place just days after US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s controversial visit to Taiwan this week. Pelosi, who became the highest elected American official to visit the breakaway island since Newt Gingrich did so in 1997, left Taipei on Wednesday after holding a meeting with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-Wen.
‘Unprecedented’ Combat Drills by PLA After Pelosi’s Trip
China strongly condemned Pelosi’s visit, which took place despite Beijing’s repeated warnings that Washington would have to endure the “consequences” of the trip.
In response to Pelosi’s visit, Beijing is conducting “live-fire” and conventional ballistic missile drills in six regions around Taiwan, which experts in Chinese state media have described as “unprecedented” in scale and scope.
Experts say that this is the first time that Beijing will launch missiles over Taiwan, which will traverse the island from west to east.
A press release by the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theatre Command on Wednesday said that joint blockade, sea assault, land attack and air combat drills were at the “core” of the combat drills.
Taiwanese media reported on Thursday that the security units were forced to fire warning flares on Wednesday evening after spotting two Chinese drones over Kinmen, an island governed by Taipei.
Taiwan’s defense ministry also asserted that it faced a cyber attack, local media reported.