THE White House keeps a “quiet fish” regarding the possibility of a visit by the president of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, in Taiwan and would not confirm – but neither deny – Taiwanese media reports that her arrival in Taipei tomorrow, Tuesday, has been “blocked”.
Foreign Secretary Anthony Blinken claimed today that he did not know her intentions Pelosi – who is on tour in Asia – stressing that any initiative by her to visit Taiwan is entirely her “personal decision”.
The head of American diplomacy emphasized, however, that Washington expects Beijing to react responsibly and not engage in actions that will escalate the tension if Nancy Pelosi eventually visits the Taiwan.
“Ignorance” about whether the speaker of the House of Representatives will visit Taiwan, said White House spokesman for national security John Kirby. “We will not take the bait, nor will we be intimidated,” he asserted and added that nothing has changed in American policy on Taiwan.
News of Pelosi’s intention to visit the island has angered China, which considers it its territory and has declared that it will not even hesitate to seize it by force in order to bring it under its full control. Taiwan’s roughly 23 million residents have lived for years with the possibility of a Chinese invasion, but that threat has increased under Xi Jinping’s presidency.
The US maintains a policy of “strategic ambiguity” on whether it would intervene militarily in the event of a Chinese invasion. Although diplomatically they do not recognize Taiwan’s independence, they support Taiwan’s democratically elected government and oppose any violent regime change of the self-governing island.
The US and Chinese presidents had a high-profile phone call last week dominated by disagreements over Taiwan, with Xi Jinping warning Joe Biden not to “play with fire”.
The scenarios for a possible visit by Pelosi to Taipei have coincided with an increase in Chinese military activity in the region, underscoring how tense the situation is.
Source: News Beast
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