No reason to over-torque this transit into anything escalatory: US on Taiwan Vice President's stopover

US State Department’s Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel on Monday (local time) said that there is no reason to over-torque about Taiwan Vice President William Lai’s transit through the United States into “anything escalatory.” He said that the transit of William Lai is not any kind of pretext for “coercion and provocative activity.” Asked about China’s statement about taking counter-measures and the nature of the Taiwanese Vice President’s visit, Vedant Patel said, “So first what I would say is that there is no reason to over-torque this transit into anything escalatory. This is consistent with our “one China” policy. We are not interested in deviating from the status quo. It is not any kind of pretext for coercion or provocative activity.” Vedant Patel further said that William Lai transited in the US through the outbound leg of his journey to Paraguay. He said that Lai will transit through San Francisco on the return leg and called these transits routine. He noted that Lai had previously transited through US in 2021. “What I can offer on this transit is that Vice President Lai transited the US on August 12th through 13th for the outbound leg of his journey to Paraguay. He will transit San Francisco on the return leg. Such transits are routine and given the distances involved and they are common. There have been 10 vice presidential transits in the last 20 years. All have occurred without incident. This transit by VP Lai is the 11th transit and his second. He’s previously transited in 2021,” Vedant Patel said. Taiwan’s vice president and presidential candidate William Lai’s stopover in the US on Sunday en route to Paraguay irked China. Denouncing the move, the Chinese Foreign Ministry branded him a “troublemaker through and through,” according to CNN. On his way to Paraguay, where he will witness Santiago Pena’s inauguration as president on August 15, Lai arrived in New York on Saturday. In a statement posted on Twitter, Lai stated, “Happy to arrive at the #BigApple, icon of liberty, democracy & opportunities. It’s very nice of @Bikhim & #AIT’s Ingrid Larson to greet me with a warm welcome at @JFKairport. Looking forward to seeing friends & attending transit programs in #NewYork.” Shortly after Lai’s arrival in New York, China’s foreign ministry said it “firmly opposes” any official interaction between the US and Taiwan and any “‘Taiwan independence’ separatists to the US.” Notably, China claims Taiwan as part of its territory. “China deplores and strongly condemns the US decision to arrange the so-called ‘stopover,’” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “Lai clings stubbornly to the separatist position for ‘Taiwan independence’. He is a troublemaker through and through,” it further said. The Chinese Foreign Ministry also said Taiwan was the “core of the core interests of China” and urged the US to abide by the one-China principle, adding it was “closely following” developments and “would take resolute and strong measures to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity.” Meanwhile, Taiwan’s vice president William Lai on Sunday said that the island will never yield in the face of escalating Chinese threats, CNN reported. In a speech to supporters at a lunch banquet in New York, Lai portrayed Taiwan’s long-term survival as something the international community should take an interest in. “When Taiwan is safe, the world is safe, and when there is peace on the Taiwan Strait, there will be world peace,” Lai said, according to Taiwan’s presidential office," CNN reported. “No matter how great the threat of authoritarianism is to Taiwan, we absolutely will not be scared nor cower, we will uphold the values of democracy and freedom,” he added.