WASHINGTON: The Joe Biden government officials are concerned that China could seek to announce a no-fly zone over Taiwan ahead of an expected visit by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a bid to upend the trip, potentially raising worries even further in the region, a report said.
China might possibly respond by flying fighter jets farther into Taiwan's self-declared air defence zone, triggering a response from Taiwan and the US, according to the official. As CNN, they did not specify what kind of retaliation they might take.
In recent months, China has repeatedly deployed airplanes into Taiwan's self-declared air defence zone identification zone, an act that does not violate international law but normally results in Taiwan adopting precautionary defensive steps, including scrambling its fighter jets.
Chinese jets have not flown inside the island's territorial airspace, which extends 12 nautical miles from its coast. The US State Department has urged China to stop intimidating Taiwan.
According to three sources familiar with the planning process, Pelosi is contemplating a trip to Taiwan in the coming weeks.
While other members of Congress and previous US officials have visited Taiwan this year, Pelosi would be the highest-ranking US legislator to do so in the last 25 years. In 1997, then-Speaker Newt Gingrich visited Taiwan.
US Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that she would visit Taiwan in August
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