The Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, plans to visit Taiwan and meet with government officials on the self-governing island that China claims should be part of it, a person familiar with the matter said. The planned visit raises the prospect of increased tensions between the US and China.
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People Pelosi plans to meet in Taiwan have been notified that she is expected to arrive, the person said, though some details have yet to be finalized. Some of Pelosi’s meetings were scheduled for Tuesday evening, but most were scheduled for Wednesday, the person said, adding that they included but were not limited to meetings with Taiwanese government officials.
“She’s definitely coming to visit,” said the same person. “The only variable is whether you will stay overnight in Taipei.”
The trip will almost certainly anger Beijing, which has warned against Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan and threatened unspecified countermeasures if the visit does take place. In the White House, meanwhile, they are calling for the situation to calm down.
“There is no reason to use a potential visit to justify or inflame a crisis or a conflict,” John Kirby, the White House National Security Council’s communications coordinator for strategic issues, told reporters on Monday.
Pelosi landed in Singapore on Monday, the first stop on her visit to Asia, as China held military exercises not far from the island to mark the anniversary of the founding of the Chinese military.
Yesterday (Monday), Pelosi and four other Democratic members of Congress met with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who spoke about the importance of stability in US-China relations for peace and security in the region, according to a written statement later published by Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Pelosi later attended a closed-door reception with members of the American business community in Singapore. She did not respond to questions as she left the scene. A written statement from her office reads: “As we continue our journey in the region, we look forward to further meetings in countries that are our partners in promoting freedom and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.”
The announcement, like the travel announcement released on Sunday, did not mention Taiwan by name. Pelosi’s office said on Sunday that she will lead a delegation that will include high-profile meetings in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea.
“Those who play with fire will be burned by it”
The Taiwanese government, which often avoids announcing high-profile visits, dodged questions about Pelosi. Still, the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday repeated earlier threats warning Pelosi not to make a stop in Taiwan.
Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a routine daily briefing that China’s military, the People’s Liberation Army, “will not sit quietly” if Pelosi makes the visit. He did not specify what actions China might take.
In a phone call last week between the Chinese president and his American counterpart, Xi Jinping told Joe Biden that China would defend its national sovereignty, describing it as the “unbending will of 1.4 billion Chinese people.” “Those who play with fire will be burned by it,” spokesman Zhao said last week, reading a transcript of the conversation.
Biden, for his part, told the Chinese president that US policy regarding Taiwan has not changed, and emphasized that Washington opposes unilateral changes to the status quo.
The American president also emphasized the independence of Congress, said Kirby from the White House.
Kirby criticized China’s “irresponsible rhetoric,” saying the U.S. would ensure Pelosi’s safety during the visit. However, he took pains to add that the visit, if it happens, would not be a violation of precedent.
“We urge China, if it travels, to see it exactly as it is: nothing new. Not a change in policy, certainly not an unprecedented visit by the Speaker of the House of Representatives,” he said.
A headache for the Biden administration
The possibility of the arrest of Pelosi and her delegation in Taiwan creates a headache for the Biden administration. If Pelosi’s delegation decides to forgo visiting the island, Republican lawmakers can be expected to criticize Democrats for their withdrawal; But if she holds the visit, the danger of increasing tension between China and the US rises.
More and more members of Congress fear that China will attack Taiwan, and when Pelosi was asked two weeks ago how the US would deter China from such an action, she emphasized that it was important to “show support for Taiwan.”
Asia has been one of Pelosi’s areas of interest since she began her career in Congress more than 30 years ago. She has often spoken out about human rights violations in China. Pelosi unfurled a protester’s flag in Tiananmen Square in 1991, two years after the Chinese military crushed pro-democracy demonstrations there. In 2015, Beijing allowed her to visit Chinese-controlled Tibet – a rare concession, especially given her longstanding relationship with the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader.
Beijing claims that Taiwan is Chinese territory, and threatens to use force to retake the island, which now enjoys a democratic government and has been cooperating with the US for many years.
Pelosi’s arrival in Asia coincides with the anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army. While the need for military modernization was expressed by President Xi and Chinese Defense Minister Wei Penghe in their words, China also spoke through other military measures related to the event.
On Saturday, Chinese state television broadcast videos of a fleet of Chinese ships firing shells in the South China Sea, one of several live-fire drills conducted in the region in the past week, as the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan sailed toward those waters. One of the Chinese military exercises was held in the waters near Pingtan, which is close to Fujian Province, opposite Taiwan.
Those exercises will continue until at least Wednesday, official statements posted on the China Maritime Safety Authority website said.