IRIA News

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday night despite threats from China of serious consequences, becoming the highest-ranking American official in 25 years to visit the island.

Her visit to Taiwan has stoked serious tensions between China and the United States.

Beijing claims sovereignty over Taiwan and reacted aggressively to any gestures that may suggest the self-governing island is an independent country. China’s Defense Ministry said it will conduct a series of targeted military operations to “safeguard national sovereignty” in response to Pelosi’s visit. It vowed to “resolutely thwart external interference and ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist attempts.”

“Our visit reiterates that America stands with Taiwan: a robust, vibrant democracy and our important partner in the Indo-Pacific” Pelosi tweeted soon after landing in Taipei, Taiwan.

“Our discussions with Taiwan leadership reaffirm our support for our partner & promote our shared interests, including advancing a free & open Indo-Pacific region.” She also said that the visit is one of several Congressional delegations to Taiwan – and it “in no way contradicts longstanding United States policy, guided by the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, U.S.-China Joint Communiques and the Six Assurances.”

The visit comes after President Xi Jinping warned his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden in a recent phone call against “external interference” in Beijing.

China warns against visiting Taiwan

The Chinese military dispatched fighter jets, ordered military exercises and braced combat readiness as Taiwan prepared to host U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. China on Monday once again warned the United States that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will “not sit idly by” if Pelosi visits Taiwan.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said “The will of the people cannot be defied, and those who play with fire will perish by it,” adding “It is believed the U.S. side is fully aware of China’s strong and clear message.”

China has warned the U.S. of ‘forceful measures’ if Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan. “If the US insists on going down the wrong path, China will definitely take resolute and forceful measures to firmly defend its national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a news conference. “The United States must be fully responsible for all the consequences caused by this.”

…the US govt must honor its commitments both in word and in deed. Otherwise the US govt must take the responsibility and bear consequences for any act, under whatever pretext, in violation of the three Sino-US joint communiques.

— Hua Chunying 华春莹 (@SpokespersonCHN) August 1, 2022

U.S. warns China not to turn the visit into crisis

The White House has been trying to defuse the tensions over the visit to Taiwan, which received a strong reaction from China.

“There is no reason for Beijing to turn a potential visit consistent with longstanding U.S. policy into some sort of crisis or conflict, or use it as a pretext to increase aggressive military activity in or around the Taiwan Strait,” said U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby. “Nothing about this potential visit — potential visit, which oh, by the way, has precedent — would change the status quo.”

The United States warned China on Monday not to respond to an expected trip to Taiwan by Speaker Nancy Pelosi with military provocations even as American officials sought to reassure Beijing that such a visit would not be the first of its kind nor represent any change in policy toward the region.

Biden endorses “One China” policy, says Kirby

During a White House briefing on August 1, 2022, Kirby repeatedly stated that “There’s no reason for this to escalate.” He also reiterated that the Biden administration continues to endorse the “One China” policy.

“The speaker has a right to visit Taiwan, and a speaker of the House has visited Taiwan before without incident, as have many members of Congress, including this year,” Kirby said. “The world has seen the United States government be very clear that nothing has changed, nothing has changed, about our One China policy.”

The One China policy has been in place since 1979. It recognizes Taiwan as China’s part, however, the U.S. maintains a strategic ambiguity over Taiwan’s status. The ambiguous position also continues in defining whether or not the U.S. forces would intervene in an event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. 

“We don’t support Taiwan independence,” Kirby repeated as he reaffirmed that this view is consistent with that of previous administrations, referring to previous visits from U.S. officials to Taiwan. He stressed that there is no need to escalate the situation.

In 1997, the former House speaker Newt Gingrich also visited Taiwan. She was the last House speaker to visit Taiwan. Although China also protested her visits the trip went unaffected. China’s military power and regional influence have increased immensely since then and Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan would not take place under the same circumstances.

China has made it clear time and time again that any intervention in the self-governing island of Taiwan would be considered a blatant intervention in China’s internal affairs.

Pelosi on Asia tour

Speaker Nancy Pelosi is leading a Congressional delegation to the Indo-Pacific region focusing on mutual security, economic partnership and democratic governance in the Indo-Pacific region. None of her staff nor any other official source has yet confirmed her trip to the Island of Taiwan.

She began her visit to Asia starting from Singapore on August 1, 2022. She intends to visit Malaysia, South Korea, and Japan during her trip to Asia. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong “highlighted the importance of stable U.S.-China relations for regional peace and security” during talks with Pelosi.

Pelosi arrived in Malaysia on Tuesday for the second leg of an Asian tour. Her aircraft touched down at the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) base on August 2 morning amid tight security. In Malaysia, she called on lower house Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun in Parliament and adjourned for a luncheon meeting with Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

On Thursday, Pelosi is expected to meet with South Korean National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin Pyo in Seoul for talks on security in the Indo-Pacific region, economic cooperation and the climate crisis, according to Kim’s office. Pelosi is also due to visit Japan this week.