China has threatened “serious consequences” should Ms Pelosi go ahead with her visit.
As the vice president’s second in command and the second in line to the presidency, Ms Pelosi would be the most senior US official to visit the island since 1997.
China takes offence at this because it considers Taiwan, which is self-governing, to be a province that broke away and must reintegrate. The potential use of force to accomplish this has not been disclaimed by Beijing.
According to reports, the California Democrat has been discouraged from going even by the Biden administration.
Although his White House has deemed Chinese rhetoric opposing any such trip “clearly unhelpful and not necessary,” President Joe Biden stated to reporters last week that “the military thinks it’s not a good idea.”
The US policy toward Taiwan is unchanged, according to the state department, and Ms Pelosi has not announced any travel plans.
While the US has what it refers to as a “robust, unofficial relationship” with Taiwan, its formal diplomatic relations are with China, not Taiwan.
If Ms Pelosi’s trip were to occur, it would do so at a time of heightened hostilities between Washington and Beijing and just before US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s highly anticipated phone call.
Define Pelosi’s motivation for travelling to Taiwan.
Both the American public and the US Congress have a very strong, bipartisan support for Taiwan.
Furthermore, Speaker Pelosi has criticized China loudly throughout her 35-year congressional career.
She has criticized the country’s human rights record, spoken with pro-democracy dissidents, and gone to Tiananmen Square to pay respects to the victims of the 1989 massacre.
Following a positive Covid-19 test, Ms Pelosi’s original itinerary to visit Taiwan in April had to be changed.
The trip’s specifics have not been discussed, but she did say last week that it was “important for us to show support for Taiwan.”
China is against the visit; why?
Beijing has repeatedly threatened to annex Taiwan by force if necessary because it sees the island as part of its territory.
A growing diplomatic relationship between Taipei and Washington has angered Chinese officials. In April, six US lawmakers paid a surprised visit to the island.
Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, issued a warning on Monday, saying that if Ms Pelosi went ahead with her visit, his country would take “firm and resolute measures.”
The serious consequences, he continued, “will all be on the US,”
Even a military response, according to a Chinese ministry of defence spokesman, was possible.
Colonel Tan Kefei told China Daily that if the US side insists on moving forward, the Chinese military “will never sit idle and will take strong measures to thwart any external interference and separatist attempts for “Taiwan independence.”
Speaker Pelosi unveils a statue of the “Tank Man” from Tiananmen Square at a rally with Chinese dissidents in 2019Image source, Getty
Richard Wingfield-Hayes. Taiwan BBC News
Getting a visit from the third most powerful politician in the US should be something you look forward to if you’re a small island state with few allies, no UN recognition, and a neighbour who threatens to invade you because they’re bigger and more powerful. Right?
Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the US House, will not be told to leave Taiwan, according to the Taiwanese government.
A long-time advocate of closer ties with the US is Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen. Concerns exist regarding Ms Pelosi’s timing and whether her visit will be beneficial or detrimental.
Three times in the past year, President Joe Biden has stated that the US would intervene to support Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, only to have his staff retract his statements and insist that there has been no change in US policy.
President Biden did not express his support for Ms Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan when he learned of it through a leak; instead, he stated that “the department of defence thinks it’s not a good idea.”
These actions appear weak in Beijing. It seems to be a mess in Taipei. How does the US government exactly feel about the island?
At the age of 82, Ms Pelosi will likely step down from office this fall. Is she truly intending to provide genuine support or is this merely a ploy to further her political career?
The Chinese Communist Party is planning to re-elect Mr Xi to an unprecedented third term as president at its party congress later this year.
The two leaders will speak on the phone once more in the coming days, according to President Biden, who last spoke with President Xi in March. They will discuss a variety of subjects, including Taiwan and other “issues of tension.”
The call comes as US officials issue warnings about a Chinese military buildup in the Asia-Pacific region and “aggressive and irresponsible behaviour” in the South China Sea.
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China’s potential response has been questioned in light of the threats of retaliation about Ms Pelosi’s visit.
The Taiwan Strait, a narrow body of water separating the island from its enormous neighbour, was crossed by Chinese air force jets in 2020, putting Taipei’s missiles in range when then-US Health Secretary Alex Azar visited Taiwan.
A “shocking military response” to Ms Pelosi’s remarks was predicted last week by the former editor of China’s state-run Global Times newspaper.
It will be the first time in history that a military aircraft has crossed the island from the mainland, according to Hu Xijin, if Pelosi visits Taiwan. “[People’s Liberation Army] military aircraft will accompany Pelosi’s plane to enter the island,” he wrote.
Since the US has been deliberately vague about whether or how it would defend Taiwan in the event of a massive attack on the island, this “strategic ambiguity” policy in Washington has persisted until now.
