Canada is calling on China to de-escalate tensions that have mounted over U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
Pelosi,who landed in Taipei Tuesday night and left Wednesday, drew a sharp response from Beijing, as it announced multiple military exercises around the island shortly after her arrival.
Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said a visit by a legislator should not be a pretext for raising tensions.
“We are concerned with the heightened tensions in the region,” Joly said during a news conference with her German counterpart in Montreal Wednesday.
She said China’s threatening actions raise the risk of destabilizing the region, and called on Beijing to de-escalate.
China claims Taiwan as its territory and opposes any engagement by Taiwanese officials with foreign governments.
Shortly after Pelosi landed Tuesday night, China announced live-fire drills that reportedly started that night, as well as the four-day exercises starting Thursday.
On Wednesday, China also banned some imports from Taiwan, including citrus fruit and fish.
“We are very preoccupied by the threatening action that China is taking and their economic coercion,” Joly told reporters.
This was excerpted from the 3 August 2022 edition of Global News.