Nancy Pelosi will not visit Taiwan

Washington D.C., Aug 1: The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, confirmed that she will visit four Asian countries this week but did not mention a possible stop in Taiwan that has riled Beijing, which claims the island democracy as its own territory.

 

 

 

Pelosi said she is leading a congressional delegation to Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, and Japan to discuss trade, the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, security, and “democratic governance.”

 

 

 

Pelosi has yet to confirm news reports that she might visit Taiwan. Chinese President Xi Jinping warned against meddling in Beijing's dealings with the island in a phone call Thursday with his American counterpart, Joe Biden. Beijing sees official American contact with Taiwan as an encouragement to make its decades-old de facto independence permanent. Pelosi, head of one of three branches of the U.S. government, would be the highest-ranking elected American official to visit Taiwan since then-Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1997. “Under the strong leadership of President Biden, America is firmly committed to smart, strategic engagement in the region, understanding that a free and flourishing Indo-Pacific is crucial to prosperity in our nation and around the globe,” Pelosi's statement said. Taiwan and China split in 1949 after the communists won a civil war on the mainland. Both sides say they are one country but disagree over which government is entitled to national leadership. They have no official relations but are linked by billions of dollars of trade and investment. The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979 but maintained informal relations with the island. Washington is obligated by federal law to see that Taiwan's government has the means to defend itself.

 

Also Read: The USA is 'playing with fire': XI Jinping to Biden 

 

Beijing has given no details of how it might react if Pelosi goes to Taiwan, but the Ministry of Defense warned last week the military would take “strong measures to thwart any external interference.” The foreign ministry said, "those who play with fire will perish by it.” The ruling party's military wing, the People's Liberation Army, has flown growing numbers of fighter planes and bombers around Taiwan to intimidate the island. “The Air Force's multi-type fighter jets fly around the treasured island of the motherland, tempering and enhancing the ability to maintain national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” military spokesman Col. Shen Jinke said on Sunday, referring to Taiwan.