US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed Friday that the United States would not allow Taiwan to be isolated, as Beijing stepped up military drills and warplane incursions after her visit to the island, writes CNN.

Speaking at a news conference in Tokyo during the last stop of her Asia tour, Pelosi said China had sought to isolate Taiwan from the international community but would not prevent US officials from traveling there.
“We will not allow (China) to isolate Taiwan. They are not doing our travel schedule”, - she said.

Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan on Wednesday, when she met President Tsai Ing-wen and other leaders, has infuriated China’s Communist Party, which views the self-governed democratic island as its territory - despite never having controlled it.

China’s military conducts conventional missile tests into waters off the eastern coast of Taiwan on August 4, 2022.

Ahead of the visit, Beijing had warned it would take “forceful measures” if Pelosi went ahead, and on her departure it launched live-fire military exercises and sent missiles over Taiwan for the first time.