Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, announced that she plans to visit Singapore, Malaysia, Korea and Japan. Taiwan is not on the list.
“I am leading a congressional delegation to the Indo-Pacific region and we will hold high-level meetings in Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan to advance our common interests,” Pelosi said.
During his Asia tour, he plans to discuss security issues in the region, the coronavirus and the climate crisis. It was previously reported that the politician plans to visit Taiwan, but PRC officials reacted sharply to such plans, saying that it would significantly worsen the situation around the island’s regional connection.
Pelosi flew from the USA to Asia the day before. Nearly 100,000 people watched in real time the Boeing C-40C flight awaiting its arrival in Taiwan. It was later learned that the plane had landed at the Honolulu airport in Hawaii.
On the same day, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army began military exercises in the Taiwan Strait off Pingtan Island in Fujian Province. Fujian is the closest region to Taiwan in mainland China.
“Are the US and China ready for a real war?”
Matthew Kroenig, a professor at Georgetown University in Washington, said the House Speaker’s possible trip was a mistake that China will exploit in the future. He added that with his actions, the Biden administration has put itself in a stalemate – if Pelosi refuses to fly to Taiwan, it will show US weakness.
“This would be a sign of weakness and essentially teach the Chinese Communist Party that US officials have veto power over itineraries,” Krenig quoted by the portal. foreign policy.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described Pelosi’s possible flight to Taiwan as dangerous surrealism. He compared American politics to a nuclear-powered icebreaker that deviated from its course and landed on the beaches.
“On the one hand, I want to call Pelosi’s flights a dangerous military-political adventurism. On the other – “flights in a dream and in reality.” Everything that happens in American politics is very scanty and surreal,” he said.
Commenting on Pelosi’s possible visit to Taiwan, Senator Alexei Pushkov said it could lead to an open military confrontation between the US and China.
“Are the US and China now ready for a real war, not just a war of words and military maneuvers? How much does each of the two countries need such a war? And is the elder Congress speaker’s visit reason enough? All three questions are answered in the negative. This does not completely exclude the possibility of a military conflict ”- Wrote He’s on his Telegram channel.
Senator Vladimir Dzhabarov also noted that Pelosi’s trip will only intensify the conflict between the United States and China. According to him, he wants to use his Taiwan visit to get reelected to the Congress House of Representatives. According to the senator, for this he “must show himself as a strong-willed and tough politician”, ready to put Beijing in his place.
Former US President Donald Trump thinksHe said Pelosi’s involvement in the Taiwan issue was just “to cause trouble and make money”.
flight history
Pelosi had originally planned to visit Taiwan in April, but contracted the coronavirus. Politico and the Financial Times recently reported on a possible visit by the politician in August. Pelosi holds the third most important position in the US government hierarchy, and her visit may be the first by a politician of this rank to the island in 25 years.
On July 27, CNN reported that Pelosi had received a warning from the US presidential administration about her trip to Taiwan. Officials noted that the PRC leadership could use the trip for its own political purposes. The White House commented on Pelosi’s possible visit to Taiwan, saying the speaker had the right to decide for himself whether or not to go there.
“I didn’t see any solution. We didn’t see any explanation. The decision is entirely up to the speaker,” said John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator for the National Security Council.
According to NBC, Pelosi has invited Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks, who heads a congressional delegation to Taiwan in 2021, and Democrat Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Mark Takano, to accompany her.
Taiwan issue and Beijing’s reaction
The issue of Taiwan’s territorial connection has been open since 1949, when the Communist People’s Republic of China was proclaimed and a part of the ruling Kuomintang party came to power in Taiwan. Beijing insists on the “one China principle” in Taiwan, where it is impossible to recognize both the PRC and the Republic of China at the same time.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said that if Pelosi visits Taiwan, Beijing will take decisive and drastic measures. The Ministry of Defense of the People’s Republic of China said that “the military will not watch this quietly.” According to the Financial Times, China has also specifically warned of a possible military response, including interception of the speaker’s plane as it approaches the island.
Source: Gazeta
Calvin Turley is an author at “Social Bites”. He is a trendsetter who writes about the latest fashion and entertainment news. With a keen eye for style and a deep understanding of the entertainment industry, Calvin provides engaging and informative articles that keep his readers up-to-date on the latest fashion trends and entertainment happenings.