There is no reason for China and the US “to come to blows” should US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visit Taiwan during her current trip to Asia, the White House said on Friday, underscoring the international tensions surrounding her travel plans.
The remarks by National Security Council spokesman John Kirby came as Pelosi offered a rationale for a visit to Asia that she had not before stated.
She referred to US President Joe Biden’s focus on Asia and referenced his recent trip to South Korea and Japan, telling reporters: “He has visited there, his vice president has visited, the secretary of commerce and others, and we want the Congress of the United States to be part of that initiative.”
Photo: Bloomberg
Seeming to stop just short of saying she would make a stop in Taiwan, Pelosi said: “I’m very excited that should we go to the countries, that you’ll be hearing about along the way about the conversations” she would have there.
The US has seen no evidence Chinese preparations for military activity against Taiwan, Kirby said.
“[We have] seen no physical, tangible indications of anything untoward with respect to Taiwan,” he said.
However, China yesterday morning held live-fire military drills in the Taiwan Strait, which Beijing announced via state media yesterday.
The maneuvers were limited in scope and took place off the island of Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, about 120km from the coast of Taiwan, the statement reported by Chinese media said.
Pelosi and her aides have not confirmed her travel plans or named the countries she might visit, citing security concerns.
China has objected strenuously to any Taiwan visit by Pelosi, warning of “resolute and strong measures” if she does.
Biden said earlier this month that the Pentagon thinks a Pelosi trip to Taiwan is “not a good idea right now.”
In Taipei, defense officials who briefed reporters on Friday declined to discuss any potential preparations for a trip.
Biden has designed his foreign policy in part around countering China’s growing economic and military might. Pelosi’s itinerary has also become a domestic political issue, with some Republicans urging her to visit Taiwan to stand up to Beijing.
Kirby said on Friday that Pelosi “does not need nor do we offer approval or disapproval” for travel, adding: “The speaker is entitled to travel aboard a military aircraft.”
The military routinely supplies aircraft for travel by lawmakers, which presidents have authority to deny. In a highly unusual move, then-president Donald Trump blocked Pelosi and other lawmakers from using a military aircraft to visit Afghanistan during a 2019 dispute over a government shutdown, and after she told him to delay his State of the Union address.
Although US officials often make discreet visits to Taiwan, Pelosi is second in line to the presidency, which has made a possible visit more contentious.
Additional reporting by Reuters and AFP
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
Pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s (黎智英) fraud conviction and prison sentence were yesterday overturned by a Hong Kong court, in a surprise legal decision that comes soon after Lai was jailed for 20 years on a separate national security charge. Judges Jeremy Poon (潘兆初), Anthea Pang (彭寶琴) and Derek Pang (彭偉昌) said in the judgement that they allowed the appeal from Lai, and another defendant in the case, to proceed, as a lower court judge had “erred.” “The Court of Appeal gave them leave to appeal against their conviction, allowed their appeals, quashed the convictions and set aside the sentences,” the judges
RSS