Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Saturday, Oct 04, 2025

Taiwan tensions: China condemns 'manic' visit as Pelosi continues tour

Taiwan tensions: China condemns 'manic' visit as Pelosi continues tour

China's foreign minister has called US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan "manic, irresponsible and irrational".
At a meeting of Southeast Asian countries, Wang Yi defended China's military drills in the seas around Taiwan, held in response to the visit.

Ms Pelosi made a brief but controversial stop on the island on Wednesday, during a tour of the region.

China reacted by launching its biggest ever military exercises in the region.

Ms Pelosi is the most senior US politician to visit the island in 25 years.

Her decision to stop at the island has enraged Beijing, which considers Taiwan to be a breakaway province of China.

The US does not officially recognise Taiwan, but it does maintain a strong relationship with the island, which includes selling weapons for Taiwan to defend itself.

Speaking during a meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh, Wang said his country had done all it could to avoid a crisis but that it could "not allow its core interests to be hurt".

His comments came after Southeast Asian foreign ministers had earlier warned that growing tensions over Taiwan could spark open conflict in the region.

A statement from the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) called for maximum restraint and urged against any provocative action.

It said that recent developments could lead to "miscalculation, serious confrontation, open conflicts and unpredictable consequences among major powers".

Wang said Taiwan would "eventually return to the embrace of the motherland".

The Chinese government has threatened to eventually seize the island by force if other attempts at unification are unsuccessful.

Russia - which maintains good relations with Beijing - said China had the "sovereign right" to hold the drills.

"The tension in the region and around Taiwan was provoked...by the visit of Nancy Pelosi," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

Following her visit to Taiwan, Ms Pelosi has since travelled to visit South Korea as part of an official four-country tour which also includes Singapore, Malaysia and Japan.

In Seoul she met with National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo where concerns over North Korea's nuclear and missile threats were discussed.

She is also expected to visit the heavily fortified border with North Korea - known as the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) - according to reports.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×