MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Thursday that China had the sovereign right to hold major military drills around Taiwan and accused the United States of artificially fuelling tensions in the region.
China fired multiple missiles around Taiwan on Thursday as it launched unprecedented military drills a day after a visit by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the self-ruled island that Beijing regards as its sovereign territory.
Asked about China’s drills, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “This is China’s sovereign right.”
“The tension in the region and around Taiwan was provoked… by the visit of Nancy Pelosi,” Peskov told reporters on a conference call. “It was an absolutely unnecessary visit and an unnecessary provocation.”
(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
