The US House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has said Beijing cannot prevent world leaders from travelling to Taiwan, as she departed from the island on Wednesday to continue her tour of Asia.

In a newly released statement that summarised her trip, Pelosi expressed her admiration for Taiwan’s democracy and criticised China’s ruling Communist party for obstructing Taiwan on the world stage.

“Sadly, Taiwan has been prevented from participating in global meetings, most recently the World Health Organization, because of objections by the Chinese Communist party,” Pelosi said in statement.

“While they may prevent Taiwan from sending its leaders to global forums, they cannot prevent world leaders or anyone from travelling to Taiwan to pay respect to its flourishing democracy, to highlight its many successes and to reaffirm our commitment to continued collaboration.”

Pelosi’s trip generated much condemnation from Beijing and sparked fears of a new Taiwan strait crisis. China has vowed “consequences” and announced military exercises in waters around the island on Thursday to show its dissatisfaction. Taiwan said that ahead of the drill 27 Chinese warplanes had entered the island’s air defence zone.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Pelosi questioned the motivations of the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, when asked about his strong response to her visit.