Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, right, shakes hands with US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the Istana Presidential Palace in Singapore on August 1. HANDOUT/AFP/Getty Images
The White House on Monday denounced Beijing’s rhetoric over an expected visit by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, vowing that the United States “will not take the bait or engage in saber-rattling” and not has an interest in increasing tensions with China.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby stressed that the decision to visit the self-ruled island that China claims as its own was ultimately Ms. Pelosi. He noted that members of Congress have regularly visited Taiwan over the years.
Kirby said administration officials are concerned that Beijing could use the visit as an excuse to take provocative retaliatory measures, including military actions such as firing missiles into or around the Taiwan Strait.
“Simply put, there is no reason for Beijing to turn a potential visit consistent with long-standing US policy into some sort of crisis or use it as a pretext for increased aggressive military activity in the Straits Taiwan or thereabouts,” Kirby said. .
The Biden administration snubbed Beijing as Ms. Pelosi held talks with officials in Singapore on Monday at the start of her Asian tour.
Although there have been no official announcements, local media in Taiwan reported that Ms. Pelosi will arrive on Tuesday night, making her the highest-ranking US elected official to visit in more than 25 years. The United Daily News, Liberty Times and China Times, Taiwan’s three largest national newspapers, cited unidentified sources as saying he would arrive in Taipei after visiting Malaysia and spending the night.
Talk of the visit is infuriating Beijing, which regards Taiwan as its own territory and has repeatedly warned of “serious consequences” if the reported trip goes ahead.
“If Pelosi insists on visiting Taiwan, China will take decisive and forceful measures to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said in Beijing, without elaborating.
“Those who play with fire will die,” said Mr. lijian “We would like to again warn the United States that we are fully prepared for any eventuality and that the PLA will never stand idly by.” The People’s Liberation Army is the army of China.
Chinese President Xi Jinping also warned the United States not to interfere in Beijing’s dealings with the island in a phone call last week with President Joe Biden.
China has steadily increased diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan. Threats of retaliation over a visit by Ms. Pelosi have raised concerns of a new crisis in the Taiwan Strait, which separates the two sides, that could affect global markets and supply chains.
Beijing sees official US contact with Taiwan as a push to make permanent the island’s decades-old de facto independence, a move US leaders say they do not support. Ms. Pelosi, head of one of the three branches of the US government, would be the highest-ranking US elected official to visit Taiwan since then-Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1997.
The Biden administration has tried to reassure Beijing that there was no reason to “go to blows” and that if such a visit were to occur, it would not signal a change in US policy. Administration officials on Monday asked China to tone down the rhetoric, stressing that there was no reason for Beijing to raise tensions in the Taiwan Strait over the potential visit.
“What I can say is this: This is very precedent in the sense that previous speakers have visited Taiwan, many members of Congress are going to Taiwan, including this year,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “And so if the speaker decides to visit and China tries to create some kind of crisis or escalate tensions, that would be entirely on Beijing.”
Taiwan and China split in 1949 after the Communists won a civil war on the mainland. Both sides say they are one country, but disagree over which government has the right to national leadership. They have no official relationship, but are linked by billions of dollars of trade and investment.
The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, but maintains informal relations with the island. Washington is bound by the Taiwan Relations Act, a federal law, to see that Taiwan has the means to defend itself.
Washington’s “one China policy” says it takes no position on the status of the two sides, but wants their dispute to be resolved peacefully. Beijing promotes an alternative “one China principle” that says they are one country and the Communist Party is the leader.
“We expect to see Beijing continue to use inflammatory rhetoric and disinformation in the coming days,” Kirby said. “The United States, on the other hand, will act with transparency.”
Monday, Ms. Pelosi met with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, President Halimah Yacob and other cabinet members.
Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Lee welcomed the US commitment to a strong commitment to the region, and the two sides discussed ways to deepen US economic engagement through initiatives such as the Indo Economic Framework – Pacific
Mr. Loong and Ms. Pelosi also discussed the war in Ukraine, tensions over Taiwan and mainland China and climate change, she said in a statement. Mr. Loong “highlighted the importance of stable relations between the United States and China for regional peace and security,” he added, in an apparent allusion to reports of Ms. Pelosi in Taiwan.
Ms. Pelosi has said she is visiting Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan on a tour to discuss trade, the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, security and “democratic governance.”
Thursday, Ms. Pelosi will meet South Korean National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin Pyo in Seoul for talks on security in the Indo-Pacific region, economic cooperation and the climate crisis, Mr. Pyo in a statement.
He declined to provide further details about his itinerary, including when he will arrive in South Korea and how long he will stay. Ms. Pelosi’s schedule for Wednesday is unclear, and there are no details on when she will go to Japan.
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