US, Australia, Japan urge China to halt military exercises around Taiwan

China launched large-scale military exercises around Taiwan in response to the the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taipei.

The United States, Australia and Japan have urged China to immediately cease its military exercises launched following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taipei, as they reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Pelosi, 82, was the highest-profile US official to visit Taiwan in 25 years. Pelosi's visit on Wednesday and her meetings with President Tsai Ing-wen and other leaders has infuriated China, which views the self-governed democratic island as its territory that should be reunified with the mainland, even by force.

China fired a barrage of ballistic missiles into the waters around Taiwan as it launched large-scale military exercises in response to her visit to Taipei.

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A joint statement was issued by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa after their in-person meeting in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, on the margins of the 55th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

“The Secretary and the Foreign Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," the statement said on Saturday.

Sharing the region’s desire for diplomacy to avoid the risks of miscalculation, they expressed their concern about the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) recent actions that gravely affect international peace and stability, including the use of large-scale military exercises.