US chides China for undermining stablity in Taiwan Strait, Indo Pacific

The director of the American Institute in Taiwan, Sandra Oudkirk, the head of the de facto U.S. embassy, said at her first press conference since taking office in July that the United States has a shared and abiding interest in peace and stability across the strait, which Washington considers central to its security and that of the broader Indo-Pacific region, Kyodo News reported.

Emphasising the US commitment to Taiwan is "rock solid," Oudkirk said "We are deeply concerned by ongoing PRC's efforts to undermine that stability," referring to the acronym of the People's Republic of China.

When asked whether the United States will come to Taiwan's defense if China launches an attack, Oudkirk said U.S. policy toward Taiwan "is clear, is well-known and has not changed," citing the Taiwan Relations Act.

Over a four-day period beginning October 1, Taiwan said that nearly 150 People's Liberation Army (PLA) military aircraft entered its air defence identification zone (ADIZ), part of a pattern of what Taipei calls Beijing's continued harassment of the nation, reported Taipei Times.

Military tensions with China are at their worst in more than 40 years, Taiwan Minister of National Defence Chiu Kuo-cheng had said.

Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.

Taipei, on the other hand, has countered the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing.

China has also threatened that "Taiwan's independence" means war. On June 1, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to complete reunification with self-ruled Taiwan and vowed to smash any attempts at formal independence for the island.