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STORY: Harris accused China of undermining the international rules-based order in her remarks during a visit to the largest overseas U.S. Navy installation in the world at Yokosuka, outside of Tokyo.

The remarks and Harris' trip to Asia come days after U.S. President Joe Biden pledged in an interview aired on Sept. 18 to defend the Chinese-claimed island against an "unprecedented attack."

The U.S. subscribes to a "one China" policy that formally recognizes only Beijing but binds the U.S. government to provide democratically ruled Taiwan with the means to defend itself.

In the wake of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in August, China carried out its largest-ever military exercises around the island.

Harris said U.S. forces would operate in the region "undaunted and unafraid" even as the United States expects "continued aggressive" actions by China.