US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi confirmed on Sunday that she will visit four Asian countries this week, but made no mention of a possible stop in Taiwan that has fueled tensions with Beijing, which claims the island’s democracy as its own territory.
Pelosi said in a statement that 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 reports that she may 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 US contact with Taiwan as a push to make permanent its decades-old de facto independence, a move US leaders say they do not support. Pelosi, head of one of the three branches of the US government, would be the highest-ranking US elected official to visit Taiwan since then-Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1997.
The Biden administration did not explicitly urge Pelosi to avoid Taiwan, but sought to reassure Beijing that there was no reason to “go to blows” and that if such a visit were to occur, it would not signal a change in US policy. .
“Under President Biden’s strong leadership, America is firmly committed to smart and strategic engagement in the region, understanding that a free and flourishing Indo-Pacific is crucial to prosperity in our nation and around the world.” Pelosi 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 has the right to national leadership.
They have no official relationship, but are linked by billions of dollars of trade and investment. The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, but maintains informal relations with the island. Washington is bound by federal law to see that Taiwan has the means to defend itself.
Washington’s “one China policy” says it takes no position on the status of the two sides, but wants their dispute to be resolved peacefully. Beijing promotes an alternative “one China principle” that says they are one country and the Communist Party is the leader. Members of Congress publicly supported Pelosi’s interest in visiting Taiwan despite Chinese opposition.
They want to avoid being seen as caving in to Beijing. Beijing has not given details of how it might react if Pelosi goes to Taiwan, but the Defense Ministry warned last week that the military would take “forceful measures to thwart any outside interference.” The Foreign Ministry said: “those who play with fire will die by it.
“The ruling party’s military wing, the People’s Liberation Army, has flown an increasing number of fighter jets and bombers over Taiwan to intimidate the island. “The Air Force’s multi-type fighter jets fly to around the precious island of the motherland, tempering and enhancing the ability to maintain national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” military spokesman Colonel Shen Jinke said on Sunday, referring to Taiwan.
Pelosi said her delegation includes U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Mark Takano, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee; Suzan DelBene, Vice Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee; Raja Krishnamoorthi, a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, and Andy Kim, a member of the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees of the Chamber
A visit to Taiwan would be a key point in the career of Pelosi, who increasingly uses her position in Congress as America’s emissary on the world stage. He has long challenged China on human rights and wanted to visit Taiwan earlier this year. In 1991, as a new member of Congress, Pelosi angered Chinese authorities by unfurling a banner in Tiananmen Square in central Beijing commemorating the killings when the Communist Party crushed pro-democracy protests two years earlier.
“It’s important for us to show support for Taiwan,” Pelosi, a Democrat from California, told reporters this month. But he had made it clear that he was not advocating US policy changes. “None of us have ever said we are in favor of independence, when it comes to Taiwan,” he said. “That’s up to Taiwan to decide.”
On Friday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby tried to quell concerns. “There’s no reason for it to come to that, to come to blows,” Kirby said at the White House. “There is no reason for this because there has been no change in US policy regarding One China.