House Speaker Nancy Pelosi began a tour of Asia on Monday that has been shrouded in secrecy following escalating tensions with China over Taiwan.
Uncertain whether Pelosi will visit the island, she stopped first in Singapore, where Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong urged her in a meeting to strive for “stable” ties with Beijing.
His itinerary also includes Malaysia, South Korea and Japan, but a possible visit to Taiwan has dominated attention in the run-up.
Reports of a plan to visit the island have angered Beijing and provoked unrest in the White Housewith President Biden trying to lower the temperature between Washington and Beijing.
Beijing considers self-governing Taiwan its territory — which it will take over one day, by force if necessary — and says it would consider a visit by Pelosi a major provocation.
Reuters news agency quotes Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian as saying on Monday that it would be “a huge interference in China’s internal affairs” if Pelosi stopped in Taiwan. He warned that it would have “evolution and very serious consequences”.
“We would like to tell the United States once again that China is standing by, that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army will never stand idly by, and that China will adopt decisive responses and forceful countermeasures to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity” , Zhao told a regular audience. daily briefing.
Mohd Fyrol, Official Photographer / (Singapore) Ministry of Communications and Information / Handout via Reuters
Pelosi’s office confirmed his trip to Asia in a statement on Sunday once his plane was in the air, after days of US media speculation and the speaker refusing to confirm his itinerary.
“The trip will focus on mutual security, economic partnership and democratic governance in the Indo-Pacific region,” his office said, referring to the Asia-Pacific.
The statement did not mention Taiwan. But visits by US officials there are usually kept secret until the delegations land.
A spokesman for the White House National Security Council said Monday morning that Pelosi “has not confirmed her travel plans,” adding that the national security team has engaged with Pelosi and her team and has given him “comprehensive briefings”.
Pelosi, the spokesman said, “will make her own decision because Congress is an independent branch of government.”
Taiwan has been visited by a House spokesman before: Newt Gingrich went to Taiwan in 1997. “There is no reason for Beijing to turn a potential visit consistent with long-standing American policy into some kind of crisis or conflict ” said the spokesman.
The Global Times, China’s state-run tabloid, suggested Pelosi could use “emergency excuses such as a plane failure or fuel surcharge” to land at a Taiwanese airport.
“If he dares to stop in Taiwan, it will be time to ignite the powder of the situation in the Taiwan Strait,” tweeted Hu Xijin, a former Global Times editor who is now a commentator.
Taiwan’s 23 million people have long lived with the possibility of an invasion, but the threat has intensified under Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The United States maintains a policy of “strategic ambiguity” about whether it would intervene militarily if China invaded.
While Washington diplomatically recognizes Beijing over Taipei, it also supports Taiwan’s democratic government and opposes any forced change in the island’s status.
US officials usually make low-key visits to Taiwan to show their support, but a trip to Pelosi would be more high-profile than any in recent history.
Taiwan’s government has remained silent on the prospect of a Pelosi visit, and there has been minimal local press coverage.
“I really hate what the Chinese are doing,” Hsu Ching-feng, a fruit seller in Taipei, told Agence France-Presse. “But there’s nothing we common people can do about it but ignore them. I’ll just ignore them.”
As Speaker of the House, Pelosi is third in line to the US presidency and one of the most powerful politicians in the country.
Mr. Biden and Mr. Xi had one tense phone call last week clouded by disagreements over Taiwan.
Xi issued an oblique warning to the United States not to “play with fire” over the island.
Speculation about Pelosi’s plans for Taiwan has coincided with increased military activity in the region.
US officials have tried to play down the significance of a visit by Pelosi, calling for calm from Chinese leaders.
Kharis Templeman, a Taiwan expert at the Hoover Institution, said Beijing “misread US policy and messed up its signaling” with its strong reaction.
“They picked the wrong target. Biden does not control the president or any other member of Congress,” he tweeted on Sunday.
“They have drawn the line to the Speaker of the House, in a visit rich in symbolism but of limited practical value. And now it will be politically difficult for Pelosi not to go, or for Xi not to respond with something dramatic.”
In Taiwan, there have been mixed views on the possibility of Pelosi’s visit, but figures in both the ruling party and the main opposition have said the island should not bow to Chinese pressure.
“If Pelosi were to cancel or postpone the trip, it would be a victory for the Chinese government and for Xi, as it would show that the pressure she has exerted has achieved the desired effects,” explained Hung Chin-fu of National Cheng Kung from Taiwan. University, he told AFP.
Sara Cook contributed to this report.
