Singapore: US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi began her tour of Asia on Monday as China ramped up military exercises and a war propaganda campaign that threatened her plans to visit Taiwan.
Pelosi landed in Singapore on Monday morning but did not confirm whether she would proceed with a trip to Taiwan en route to South Korea and Japan later this week after her plans to visit the democratic island were first reported time in July
The Speaker of the United States House, Nancy Pelosi. Credit: AP
China’s People’s Liberation Army held live-fire drills Monday off Fujian, less than 120 kilometers off the coast of Taiwan. The show of force, timed to mark the 95th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army, also coincided with the publication of a military speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Chinese Communist Party’s Qiushi newspaper.
“The party commands the gun,” Xi said in the speech that was made public on Monday. “We must at all times focus on preparing for battle, in order to forge a mighty army that will come when called, be ready for battle when it comes, and be victorious in battle.”
The comments were first made by Xi at a military meeting in 2017 but were only published on Monday after China’s Defense Minister Wei Fenghe said at the 95th anniversary celebration that a strong people’s army provided “strategic support for the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese”. nation” – a goal that includes unification with Taiwan.
China’s President Xi Jinping Credit: AP
The Chinese Communist Party considers self-governing Taiwan a breakaway province that must be united with the mainland. The Party has never ruled Taiwan, but has set a goal of uniting with it in 2049, the centenary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
But the rapid expansion of China’s military power has raised fears that the timetable could be pushed forward this decade. Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in July that China could be ready to act as early as 2027.
Pelosi’s visit, the most high profile of a sitting US official in decades, is seen as a provocation by Beijing because of its perceived support for Taiwan’s government. In Washington, Democratic and Republican representatives see it as evidence of America’s resolve after decades of more covert support for Taipei. US officials have expressed concern that Pelosi’s plane could be shadowed by Chinese military aircraft on its way to Taiwan, raising the risk of an accidental confrontation or a stronger military response from Beijing.