Beijing [China], August 5 (ANI): China on Friday defended its action on Taiwan and said Beijing's countermeasures are a "necessary warning against the provocation and legitimate defence of its national sovereignty and security."Hua Chunying, the spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi clarified the facts, defended the sovereignty and upheld justice on the Taiwan question.

She was referring to Wang's statement that US House Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to Taiwan was a "brazen arrangement" made by the US side after disregarding strong opposition from the Chinese side.

"It was the US that made malicious provocation first, then in response comes China's legitimate defence. China's countermeasures are a necessary warning against the provocation and legitimate defence of its national sovereignty and security," said Hua.

China on Friday said it would sanction US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in response to her "vicious" and "provocative" actions in visiting Taiwan.

"If they really worry about the regional peace and stability, why didn't they stand out earlier to prevent Pelosi from paying the provocative visit to Taiwan? Why didn't they take a different move at the beginning? On issues regarding China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, China's countermeasures are justified, necessary, appropriate and not at all excessive," said the spokeswoman.

Hua made the remarks during a regular press conference in Beijing when asked to answer a question about exchanges among Chinese, US, and Japanese foreign ministers over the Taiwan question.

Notably, the scheduled meeting between State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and the Japanese Foreign Minister were cancelled.

"China has made it clear that it will no longer schedule a meeting between Chinese and Japanese foreign ministers in Phnom Penh. Japan joined other members of G7 and the EU in issuing a joint statement which contains groundless accusations against China, confounds black and white and tries to justify the US's infringement on China's sovereignty. This has caused a public outcry among the Chinese people. We thus decided not to go ahead with the meeting between the two foreign ministers in Phnom Penh," said Hua.

Wang is attending the ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers' Meeting, ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers' Meeting, East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting, and a foreign ministers' meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum from August 3 to 5 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Moreover, Hua blamed the US for applying international rules in a selective way, fabricating various threats and excuse such as weapons of mass destruction, and even launched wars against sovereign countries without any reason.

"China's relevant measures are also a firm safeguard of regional peace and stability as well as international law and basic norms governing international relations. Over the past decades, we've seen that NATO, led by the US, has been applying international rules in a selective way," said Hua.

"The position of the Chinese government and people on the Taiwan question has been consistent. It is the firm commitment of more than 1.4 billion Chinese people to resolutely safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity. We hope that the United States and its so-called 'democratic countries' lackeys can clearly understand that they should attach importance to and respect the core interests and firm will of the Chinese people who account for one-fifth of the world's population," she added.

China has continued to carry out military drills and exercises in the vicinity of Taiwan for a second day, following the visit of US politician Nancy Pelosi to the islands. (ANI)