US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi was honoured with the highest civilian award in Taiwan during her high-stakes visit to the country amid persistent warnings and intimidation from China.

Pelosi is one of the highest-ranking US officials to visit Taiwan in 25 years. Her visit has infuriated China, which has termed the move a breach of the One-China Policy and interference in its internal affairs.

In a ceremony held at the presidential office building, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen conferred the Order of the Propitious Clouds with a Special Grand Cordon award on Pelosi for her commitment to promoting Taiwan-US relations.

The Order of Propitious Clouds is Taiwan’s highest civilian honour, which is normally awarded to citizens and foreign nationals for services rendered to Taiwan. Foreigners are given the award for promoting diplomatic relationships, CNBC reported quoting the Taiwanese law.

Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan shows “rock solid" support from Washington, Taiwan said early Wednesday shortly after the senior lawmaker touched down in Taipei. “We believe that the visit by Speaker Pelosi… will strengthen the close and friendly relations between Taiwan and the United States, and further deepen the global cooperation between the two sides in all areas," Taipei’s foreign ministry said.

China vowed Tuesday to launch “targeted military actions" in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, as tensions flare between Washington and Beijing. “The Chinese People’s Liberation Army is on high alert and will launch a series of targeted military operations to counter this, resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and resolutely thwart external interference and ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist attempts," news agency AFP quoted defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian as saying in a statement.

China warned airlines operating in Asia to avoid flying in areas around Taiwan where it is conducting military exercises in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island.

An official notice sent late on Tuesday Hong Kong time designated six areas of airspace as “danger zones,” according to carriers who received the message and Jang Chang Seog, a Korean transport ministry official. Flights will be restricted from 12 p.m. Aug. 4, to 12 p.m. Aug. 7, Bloomberg reported.

China also rolled out curbs on Wednesday on the import of fruit and fish from Taiwan while halting shipments of sand to the island.

China's Customs Administration said Wednesday it would suspend some citrus fruits and fish imports from Taiwan over alleged "repeated" detection of excessive pesticide residue and positive coronavirus tests on packages.

In a separate notice, the Commerce Ministry added it would also "suspend the export of natural sand to Taiwan" from Wednesday, without providing details.

Meanwhile, twenty-seven Chinese warplanes flew into Taiwan's air defence zone on Wednesday, Taipei said, as Pelosi made her controversial visit to the self-ruled island that Beijing considers its territory.

"27 PLA aircraft... entered the surrounding area of (Republic of China) on August 3, 2022," the defence ministry said in a tweet.

Image courtesy: AP