China's firing of missiles during military drills around Taiwan was an unjustified escalation, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, as Beijing said it would impose sanctions on House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi for visiting the island.
Diplomatic relations spiralled further downward on Friday, as China's foreign ministry followed up by saying it would cancel dialogues between the US and Chinese military leaders, and suspend bilateral talks on climate and maritime safety.
Blinken said Washington has made it repeatedly clear to Beijing that it does not seek a crisis, as diplomatic ructions continued over Pelosi's visit this week to the self-governed island that Beijing regards as its sovereign territory.
READ | China imposes unspecified sanctions on US Speaker Nancy Pelosi after 'provocative' Taiwan visit
"There is no justification for this extreme, disproportionate, and escalatory military response," Blinken said, speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum in Cambodia. He added, "now, they've taken dangerous acts to a new level."
China launched its largest ever military drills in the seas and skies around Taiwan on Thursday, a day after Pelosi enraged Beijing by making a solidarity trip to the island, the highest-level US visitor to Taiwan in 25 years.
The live-fire drills are scheduled to continue until noon on Sunday.
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Blinken emphasised that the United States would not take actions to provoke a crisis, but it would continue to support regional allies and conduct standard air and the maritime transit through the Taiwan Strait.
"We will fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows," he said.
China's foreign ministry announced on Friday that it would impose sanctions on Pelosi and her immediate family in response to her "vicious" and "provocative" actions.
The foreign ministry said it was also suspending cooperation on cross-border crime prevention and counter-narcotics, and cooperation on repatriation of illegal migrants.
Speaking in Japan, Pelosi said her trip to Asia was never about changing the regional status quo.
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