Next month, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will visit Taiwan this can angering the Beijing. Pelosi will lead a delegation to Taiwan in August, according to six people familiar with the situation. This will be the first visit by a US House speaker to the independent island in 25 years.
Since Republican Newt Gingrich, one of his predecessors as speaker, visited the island in 1997, Pelosi will be the senior US lawmaker to do so. The legislators along with their delegation will travel to Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Japan. Pelosi will also visit the headquarters of the US Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii for some time. However, the report said that there is still a chance that the trip could be cancelled.
Beijing views Taiwan as a separate province that can be seized by force if necessary, and Pelosi had originally planned to move to Taiwan in April. But when he tested positive for Covid-19, the journey was postponed. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the time called the visit a "malicious provocation". Wang informed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in early July that the US should not send any messages supporting Taiwan's independence.
In discussions with Blinken, Xinhua quoted Wang as saying that "the US should not underestimate the strong resolve of the Chinese people to defend territorial sovereignty and make subversive mistakes that ruin peace in the Taiwan Strait." " Other Chinese diplomats predicted in April that Beijing would impose sanctions on Pelosi, intensify military exercises on Taiwan and stop working with the US on climate change.
According to The Financial Times, there were differences within the US administration about whether Pelosi should travel to Taiwan. Some believed that Ukraine would have been easier to defend a visit in April, shortly after the start of the war.
His office declined to confirm if Pelosi intended to travel to Taiwan or Asia.
The closeness between Washington and Taiwan is increasing. Former US Defense Chief, Mark Esper, is currently visiting the island for four days.
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