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President Biden said the U.S. military does not support House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visiting Taiwan this summer.
Leaving Air Force One on Wednesday afternoon, Biden was asked about the possibility of a trip to Pelosi, which has not been confirmed by the State Department or its office.
Biden said “the military thinks it’s not a good idea right now,” but noted he wasn’t sure “what the situation is.”
China’s Foreign Ministry attacked on Tuesday after the media reported that Pelosi (D-Calif.) Had planned to visit the democratic island claimed by Beijing, as part of a larger tour of Asia in the United States. ‘August.
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Pelosi’s office told The Washington Post on Thursday he maintained comments earlier this week: “We do not confirm or deny international travel in advance due to long-standing security protocols.” The Financial Times first reported the news of Pelosi’s trip, stating that he would visit Singapore, Japan, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Pelosi had planned to lead a congressional delegation to Taiwan in April, but delayed his trip after contracting the coronavirus. A visit this summer would make her one of the most important American politicians who traveled to Taiwan in recent years and the first House spokeswoman to go there since Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) Did so in 1997. .
State Department spokesman Ned Price said this week that the trip has not been announced and remains “hypothetical.”
Biden also told reporters he expects to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping “in the next 10 days.” He rebuked whether he would raise the issue of tariffs and trade with the leader of the world’s second-largest economy, amid rising inflation in the United States.
Sino-US relations remain strained, and Taiwan is a sensitive issue.
“If the United States insists on moving forward, China will have to take firm and forceful measures to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Tuesday. Such a trip would cause “serious damage,” he added, and “severely affect the political foundations of China-US relations.”
Pelosi, who has been critical of China for his position in Taiwan, met virtually in January with Taiwan’s vice president William Lai Ching-te when he was in the United States. She thanked Pelosi for defending human rights and called her a “true friend” of Taiwan.
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Beijing claims Taiwan as its headquarters and has pledged to achieve what it calls “reunification,” threatening, if necessary, with using force to take control of the self-governing island. For decades, the United States has gone down a fine line, not taking a position on the status of Taiwan’s sovereignty, but repeatedly stating that it opposes any unilateral change in the status quo.
During his first trip to Asia as president in May, Biden indicated a more confrontational approach to China and issued a strong warning against any potential attack on Taiwan.
When asked at the time if the United States would militarily defend Taiwan if it is attacked by Beijing, Biden said, “Yes, that is the commitment we made.” His comment represented a deviation from the usual U.S. policy of strategic ambiguity on the issue and was quickly rejected by aides and criticized by Beijing at the time.
Taiwan has lived under Beijing’s military threat since communist forces defeated nationalists in the Chinese Civil War in 1949, prompting nationalists to flee to Taiwan and establish a rival government.
Christian Shepherd and Missy Khamvongsa contributed to this report.