China 'chose to overreact' to Nancy Pelosi visit to Taiwan, White House says

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China “chose to overreact” to Nancy Pelosi's visit by firing 11 ballistic missiles around Taiwan on Thursday, a “provocative” military activity, a White House spokesperson said.  

The United States has decided to postpone an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test scheduled for the next few days “to avoid a further escalation of tensions”, added John Kirby during a press briefing.

“As China conducts destabilizing military exercises around Taiwan, the United States is instead behaving as a responsible nuclear power, reducing the risk of misunderstandings,” he noted.

< p>The spokesperson recalled that President Joe Biden had spoken to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping last week, hinting that further contact with Chinese authorities could occur soon.

“The lines of communication are still open with Beijing and I think you will see that in the coming days,” he said. “It's very important”.

China “fired 11 ballistic missiles towards Taiwan, and they landed in the northeast, east, and southeast of the island,” the White House spokesman said. strategic issues.

“We condemn these acts, which are irresponsible,” he added. Beijing used House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit on Tuesday and Wednesday as a “pretext to increase its provocative military operations in and around the Taiwan Strait.”

“ We will not be deterred from operating in the seas and skies of the Western Pacific in accordance with international law, as we have done for decades, defending Taiwan and a free and open Indo-Pacific,” he said. he pointed out.

It is to this end that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has decided to keep the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and its airborne group “a little longer than planned” in the region. , which is currently cruising in the Philippine Sea, to “monitor the situation,” Kirby noted.

The Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test is on hold, and will take place at a later date .