On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Washington was trying to prolong the situation in Ukraine and was igniting wars throughout the globe, including with Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan.
The state of affairs in Ukraine demonstrates the US’s efforts to keep the war going.
And they behave in the same way, increasing the likelihood of violence in Asia, Africa, and Latin America,’ Putin said in comments broadcast on television while speaking at the opening ceremony of a security conference in Moscow via video connection.
He said, “The American adventure in connection to Taiwan is not simply a trip of one reckless politician, but rather a deliberate, knowing US policy to disrupt and make chaotic the situation in the area and the globe.
The Russian dictator, who gave the order for the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, was giving the opening remarks at a symposium on international security in Moscow.
According to him, Pelosi’s visit was a “brazen display of disregard for other nations’ sovereignty and for its (Washington’s) international commitments.”
Putin said, “We perceive this as a well calculated provocation.”
As it approaches its sixth month, Moscow’s military action in Ukraine has resulted in thousands of deaths, millions of evictions, and a worsening of the global food crisis.
Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defence minister, declared during a security conference that Moscow has no plans to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
Shoigu said, “From a military standpoint, there is no need to employ nuclear weapons in Ukraine to accomplish the intended aims.”
Since Putin began his military involvement in pro-Western Ukraine, relations between Moscow and Washington have been in ruins, with Russia threatening to cut all ties with the US.
In the meanwhile, the US and other Western allies have given Ukraine backing and weaponry worth billions of dollars to stave off the horrific assault.
The High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), which has shown to be quite effective against Putin’s army, is one such weapon system.
Russian officials refer to their invasion of Ukraine as a “special military operation” that is intended to demilitarise their smaller neighbour and safeguard Russian-speaking areas.
Moscow is accused of pursuing an imperial-style war of conquest by Ukraine and its Western sponsors, and reports of Russian atrocities are often seen leaving the country.
Putin has instead attempted to strengthen connections with nations in Africa and Asia, particularly with China, after being pummelling by an onslaught of unprecedented Western sanctions.
During Pelosi’s August visit to democratic, self-governing Taiwan, which China regards as its territory, Moscow stood firmly in solidarity with Beijing, China’s most important partner.
In reaction to the congressional visits, China placed visa restrictions and other penalties on Taiwanese political officials. At the same time, it increased pressure on the independent island and the United States.
In reaction to what it described as “collusion and provocation between the U.S. and Taiwan,” China conducted more military drills in the waters and the air around Taiwan the day before the penalties were announced.
The time and scope of the Chinese drills are unknown.
They were made public the day after Pelosi, the highest-ranking representative of the U.S. government to visit Taiwan in 25 years, and the day after a legislative delegation from the United States met with President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan.
Because it believes Taiwan to be its own territory and has recently increased its sabre rattling, the Chinese government opposes Taiwan having any formal interaction with other countries.
Following Pelosi’s visit, China conducted threatening military drills that lasted for nearly two weeks.
These drills included firing missiles over the island and incursions by navy ships and warplanes across the middle of the Taiwan Strait, which has long served as a deterrent between the two countries.
Ned Price, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department, told reporters in Washington that China’s ‘provocative and utterly unwarranted reaction to the congressional delegation that visited Taiwan earlier this month’ had been overreacted to.
A senior US military officer also said on Tuesday that China’s recent move to launch missiles over Taiwan is a “gorilla in the room” that has to be disputed.
First time China has done so since the mid-1990s, those drills involved shooting numerous ballistic missiles into seas around Taiwan, which are among the busiest shipping lanes in the world.
“It’s crucial that we fight against this kind of stuff.” Vice Admiral Karl Thomas, commander of the Seventh Fleet, told reporters in Singapore, “I know the missiles are being launched over Taiwan by the 800-pound monster in the room.
He said, “If we simply let it happen, and we don’t fight that, that’ll be the new standard.”
Launching missiles over Taiwan into international seas, where shipping channels and free shipping are active, is reckless.
The Seventh Fleet, which has its base in Japan, is a vital component of the Pacific Fleet of the United States of America.
A new escalation that Beijing refrained from announcing during this month’s exercises was that some of the ballistic missiles launched by the People’s Liberation Army flew straight over Taiwan’s capital Taipei.
Thomas contrasted the threats against Taiwan to the situation in the South China Sea, where Beijing has been building military installations on a number of disputed atolls for years while denying it was doing so.
He warned that if you don’t dispute it, it might suddenly become into military outposts similar to the islands in the South China Sea.
They are now fully operational military installations with missiles, expansive runways, hangars, radars, and listening stations.
Bi-khim Hsiao, Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the United States, as well as lawmakers Ker Chien-ming, Koo Li-hsiung, Tsai Chi-chang, Chen Jiau-hua, and Wang Ting-yu, as well as activist Lin Fei-fan, are the targets of China’s most recent sanctions.
According to the Taiwan Work Office of the governing Communist Party, they will be prohibited from visiting Hong Kong, Macao, and the rest of mainland China as well as from maintaining any business or personal links with individuals or organisations there.
According to the official Xinhua News Agency, the sanctions were intended to “resolutely punish” people seen as “diehard elements” advocating Taiwan’s independence.
Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, Premier Su Tseng-chang, and Speaker of the Legislative You Si-kun are already subject to Chinese sanctions and may soon face more limitations, according to Xinhua.
Taiwan is not subject to Chinese law, thus it is unclear how the penalties will affect Taiwan. China has shut off all communication with Taiwan’s government since immediately after Tsai’s resounding victory in 2016 elections. Tsai was reelected with a majority in 2020.
The legislature is likewise controlled by Tsai’s pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, and the majority of Taiwanese prefer retaining the status quo of de facto independence despite the close economic and social ties between the two.
China claims that the U.S. has supported the island’s independence by selling it weaponry and fostering relations between American officials and the island’s leadership.
Washington insists that the two sides should resolve their conflict amicably, that it does not favour independence, and that there are no official diplomatic relations with the island.
However, Washington is obligated by law to make sure the island can defend itself against any invasion.
Although Taiwan has alerted its military, there have been no significant responses to Chinese actions.
The general calm and widespread ambivalence among the populace, who have lived in fear of a Chinese assault for more than seven decades, reflect this.
Air force and ground-to-air missile training have been scheduled for Thursday and Friday in Taiwan.