US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s possible visit to Taiwan could spiral ties between the US and mainland China.
Pelosi opened her tour of Asia today with Singapore as the first stop. During a press conference in recent days, Ms. Pelosi referenced President Joe Biden’s past statement on US-Asian Pacific relations quoting, “the president earlier in his term talked about a strong emphasis on the Asian Pacific. He has visited there,… and we want the congress of the United States to be part of that initiative.”
The last US high official to visit Taiwan was republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich back in 1997, 25 years ago.
President Biden has made it publicly clear that his administration did not approve and will not support Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan. Secretary of State Antony Blinken added, “we do not know what Speaker Pelosi intends to do… congress is an independent, coequal branch of government. The decision is entirely the speaker’s.”
The Chinese claimed province is not on her public itinerary.
As a self-governed democratic nation, Taiwan has maintained unofficial diplomatic relations with the US, and the US Department of State’ s account on the region proclaims: “We oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-Strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” The American government has remained consistent with its policies towards Taiwan through the decades and administrations.
China has stayed alert and has monitored relations between the US and Taiwan throughout the years. Beijing has expressed its concerns and its zero hesitation to forcefully retaliate if Ms. Pelosi undermines their rule by visiting the province.
During a foreign ministry briefing last Monday, July 25th, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters, when asked about Pelosi leading a congressional delegation to Taiwan, “We would like to tell the US once again that China is standing by, and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army will never sit idly by. China will take resolute responses and strong countermeasures to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The Biden administration is however demanding the Chinese government to act responsibly in case Pelosi does decide to visit Taiwan, and to refrain from escalating the situation.