Nancy Pelosi, who arrived in Japan last evening for the final leg of her Asia tour, said the trip to the region was “not about changing the status quo in Taiwan”.
Her diplomatic support to Taipei infuriated China, prompting it to hold live-fire military drills in the waters off Taiwan.
China’s state broadcaster said the military exercises that are set to end on Sunday, would be the largest conducted by China in the Taiwan Strait. The exercises have involved live fire on the waters and in the airspace around the island.
Five missiles landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), prompting Tokyo to lodge a strong protest through diplomatic channels.
Speaking after the meeting Ms Pelosi, Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida said China’s military exercises aimed at Taiwan represent a “grave problem” that threatens regional peace and security and the missile launches need to be “stopped immediately”.
The US House speaker, who previous asserted American commitment to democracy in Taiwan and elsewhere as “ironclad,” said China will not isolate Taipei by preventing American officials from travelling there.
