Beijing, 1 August 2022 – The speaker of the House left for her tour in Asia Nancy Pelosiin the end it will most likely make a stopover in Taiwan. While there is no mention of a visit to Taipei in the official schedule, this may be an omission in line with practice. Also Cnn confirms the intention and the stopover on the island should take place tomorrow evening, 2 August. Pelosi would thus be the highest American institutional exponent on the island for the past 25 years, despite strong warnings from Beijing, determined to use countermeasures to protect sovereignty. Even sources of the Biden administration, the NYT writes, would have confirmed the trip, specifying that it is still possible, but very unlikely, that Pelosi will change his mind.
The point is that the Chinese armed forces will not “stand by” in the case of a visit to Taiwan by the president of the US House, Nancy Pelosi. Already on Saturday, just as the speaker was preparing to leave, Beijing started military exercises in the Straits of the island of Formosa and off the island of Pingtan in the province of Fujianclosing the passage in that stretch of sea for 12 hours.
“We would like to warn the US again that China is waiting and that the People’s Liberation Army will not stand by,” said the Foreign Ministry spokesman. Zhao Lijian, assuring that “China will certainly take decisive and strong countermeasures in defense of sovereignty and territorial integrity”. The US should respect the One China principle, the three Sino-American communiques, and keep President Biden’s promise not to support Taiwan’s independence.
For his part, Biden did not ask Pelosi to avoid visiting Taiwan, both out of respect for the autonomy of Congress and because he does not want to give the impression that he has given in to Chinese threats and to allow Beijing to impose the programs of the missions abroad of American personalities, wrote the NYT.
The visit could take place as early as tomorrow night, 2 Augustto meet the president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wenil August 3. This was reported by the Taiwanese media, including the television station Next Tv, which cites its own “exclusive news” regarding Pelosi’s arrival on the island. There CnnInstead, he cites a senior Taiwanese government official that Pelosi should stay in Taipei one night, while another US official added that Department of Defense members are working around the clock to monitor any Chinese movements in the region and ensure the safety of the speaker of the Chamber.
The possible visit to Taiwan, therefore, would take place after the stop in Malaysia, the second of Pelosi’s Asian tour, which is now in Singapore. Also according to Next TV, Pelosi will arrive in Taiwan on the night of August 2, stay overnight and meet with senior officials on the island the next day. They are not there for now official confirmations from Taiwan on the visit that is greatly upsetting Beijing.
In the afternoon of 5th August then, it should head towards the Yokota air base, on the outskirts of Tokyo, to meet the Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Among the tappers of the speaker’s trip there is also the South Korea.
The President of the Chamber, meanwhile, was a Singapore. He first Lee Hsien Loong and the US congressional delegation led by Pelosi “exchanged views on major international and regional developments, including the war in Ukraine, cross-strait relations and climate change”. Lee, according to a note from the Foreign Ministry, “underlined the importance of having stable relations between the US and China for regional peace and security”.