On the way to Asia, Nancy Pelosi maintains the blur on her visit to Taiwan
Beijing has warned Washington that a visit by Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan would be a "red line".
Here in the Chinese capital, July 31, 2022. AP - Andy Wong
Text by: RFI Follow
3 mins
The speaker of the American House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, confirmed this Sunday July 31 to be on her way to Asia, without mentioning a possible stopover in Taiwan which could further sour relations between China and the United States.
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The Speaker of the House of Representatives said in a statement that she was leading a Congressional delegation to the Indo-Pacific region to "
reaffirm America's unwavering commitment to its allies and friends in the region
."
Nancy Pelosi says the delegation will travel to Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan.
Peace and security, economic growth and trade, the Covid-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, human rights and democratic governance will be on the menu of this Asian tour.
Singapore's Foreign Ministry has confirmed that Nancy Pelosi and her accompanying delegation will visit the city-state from August 1-2.
Tensions
The President of the House of Representatives, on the other hand, maintains the vagueness around a possible visit to Taiwan, citing security reasons.
For weeks, tensions between the United States and China have been rising over reports that it may visit the self-governing island, which China considers part of its territory.
Beijing would see a passage, even brief, of the speaker of the House of Representatives on the island as a provocation.
►
Also to listen: "A visit by Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan would be a first in 25 years"
Chinese Air Force spokesman Shen Jinke reiterated that position on Sunday, saying defending China's territory was
the army's "
sacred mission ".
"
The Air Force has firm determination, full confidence and sufficient capabilities to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity
," he said, quoted by the
People's Daily
, a daily newspaper. State.
On Thursday,
during a rare direct exchange
with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, US President Joe Biden assured that the United States' position on Taiwan had "
not changed
" and that his country "
s 'strongly opposed unilateral efforts to alter the status of or threaten peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait
'.
Washington has no diplomatic relations with Taipei and recognizes the communist regime in Beijing as the sole representative of China.
But the United States sells arms to the island and praises its "
democratic
" regime.
For his part, Xi Jinping called on Joe Biden not to "
play with fire
", and a spokesperson for Chinese diplomacy had spoken of Nancy Pelosi's trip to the island as a "
red line
" .
military exercises
“
Taiwan is a country with its own sovereignty.
In this sense, we must welcome with hospitality any national of a friendly country of Taiwan who would like to come to us.
As for the political choice to come or not to come to visit us, it is up to the person themselves to decide,
reacted You Si-Kun, the president of the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan (the equivalent of the Assembly national), interviewed by RFI.
When the People's Republic of China claims to want to send a fighter plane to accompany Nancy Pelosi's journey, or even to set up an exclusion zone, Taiwan, as a country with its own sovereignty, feels flouted.
»
Nancy Pelosi's visit comes as military tension mounts in the region.
The Taiwanese military this week conducted its largest annual military drills, which included mock interceptions of Chinese attacks from the sea. Meanwhile, the US aircraft carrier
USS Ronald Reagan
and its flotilla departed Singapore for heading for the South China Sea as part of a scheduled operation, the US Navy said.
And on Saturday, in response, China held a “
live ammunition
” military exercise in the Taiwan Strait.
(
And with
AFP)
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