US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to visit Taiwan next month. The travel plans have also strained the relationship between the speaker and the White House.
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi has planned to travel to Taiwan in August, and China is not happy about the plans.
The 82-year-old Pelosi, who represents the Democratic Party, is known as a sharp critic of China, which is why the realization of the speaker’s trip has become a symbolic battle between the two superpowers, where Taiwan is becoming a pawn.
Spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Zhao Lijian raised the stakes yesterday by threatening severe retaliation if the House Leader’s trip materialized.
– Recently, China has repeatedly made clear to the United States its serious concern and strong opposition regarding Speaker Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. If necessary, we are ready to take countermeasures. If the US stubbornly clings to its wrongdoing, China will take firm and determined actions to safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity. The United States is responsible for any consequences, spokesman Zhao Lijian said.
Pelosi has not officially confirmed the trip, but has expressed a clear willingness to visit. Pelosi, who served as speaker of the lower house of the US Congress from 2007 to 2011 and again since 2019, planned to visit Taiwan as early as April, but the trip was canceled after she contracted the corona virus.
However, the Speaker did not put the plans on hold, but has stuck to his intention to visit Taiwan during his term, which would be the first visit by the Speaker of the House of Representatives to the country since 1997.
The White House is not sponsoring the trip
The complexity of the situation has been increased by the fact that Pelosi and her inner circle have planned the trip without the president’s support.
President Joe Biden has not supported Pelosi’s trip, but has also not directly prohibited his party colleague from traveling.. Biden comment (you will switch to another service)Pelosi’s plans last Wednesday by saying in a roundabout way that “[Yhdysvaltain] the armed forces don’t think it’s a good idea’ to visit Taiwan right now.
However, after the president’s comment, Pelosi has not said that she is canceling the visit, but both she and the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been silent about planning the trip.
The New York Times (you are moving to another service) -the White House officials who spoke to the newspaper consider the timing of Pelosi’s visit to be explosive, as the Chinese Communist Party is preparing for a party meeting to be held at the end of the year, where the president Xi Jinping is expected to continue its rule into the future.
During President Biden’s term, the United States has continued a strict China policy, but has tried to avoid deliberate provocations.
Some of the White House officials told The New York Times that they fear Pelosi’s visit is an unnecessary provocation, as a response to which China might consider, for example, cutting off access to the Taiwan Strait.
Over the summer, the Chinese authorities have been saying that the Taiwan Strait should not be treated as international waters, contrary to what the United States and many other countries think.
President Biden, who is currently in corona quarantine, told journalists via remote connection yesterday that he plans to talk to President Xinkan this week. However, Biden did not comment on Pelosi’s travel plans.
Pelosi is received supporters (you switch to another service) to carry out his visit from some representatives of the Republican Party, who see the disagreement between the Speaker and the President as a good opportunity to attack the President and accuse him of weakness.
“Speaker Pelosi should go to Taiwan, and President Biden should make it clear to President Xi that there is nothing the Chinese Communist Party can do about it,” said the Republican senator. Ben Sassewho has rarely sided with Pelosi on policy issues.
Taiwan suffers from the uncertainty of the visit
The publicity of Pelosi’s travel plans, and Pelosi’s apparent stubbornness to carry out the visit despite the White House’s opposition, drove the United States into a situation where it now has only poor options.
With the cancellation of Pelosi’s visit, China gets an indication that by threatening it can control the situation in Taiwan. On the other hand, if the trip is finally organized, China may directly retaliate against Taiwan and accuse the United States of escalating the situation in the region, which the Biden administration has wanted to avoid.
Since the end of the Chinese Civil War, the Chinese Communist Party has considered Taiwan a rebel province, but in practice Taiwan is a completely independent island nation just over 100 kilometers from the coast of mainland China.
The war of aggression started by Russia in Ukraine has raised concerns about whether China will follow suit with Taiwan in the future.
China’s armed forces have recently increased threats against Taiwan, and Taiwan has increased air alert drills in case of a Chinese attack. Most recently, yesterday, Monday, the capital city of Taipei practiced in case of an aerial bombardment.
The United States has not officially recognized Taiwan as an independent state, but the Taiwan Relations Act enacted in 1979 obliges the United States to help defend the island.
If Pelosi ultimately decides to cancel her visit, the next challenge for the United States will be to figure out how to show that its support for Taiwan is as strong as ever.
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