TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — After generating much speculation about how her potential visit to Taiwan may affect China’s relations with the U.S. and Taiwan, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a list of countries she and her delegation will be visiting, which did not include Taiwan.
On Sunday (July 31), Pelosi wrote on Twitter that the congressional delegation’s trip to the Indo-Pacific region will “reaffirm America’s strong and unshakeable commitment to our allies and friends.” She added, “In Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan, our delegation will hold high-level meetings to discuss how we can further advance our shared interests and values.”
According to Pelosi, meetings will focus on “peace and security, economic growth and trade, the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, human rights and democratic governance.” Other members of the delegation include: House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Gregory Meeks, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chair Mark Takano, House Ways and Means Committee Vice Chair Suzan DelBene, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence member Raja Krishnamoorthi, and House Armed Services Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee member Andy Kim.
Since reports about Pelosi’s pending visit to Taiwan surfaced more than a week ago, speculation has caused tension to intensify across the Taiwan Strait and between China and the U.S. As China repeatedly threatened to react to such an event with “strong measures,” the world scrutinized Taiwan’s routine Han Kuang military exercise, which ran from Monday (July 25) to Friday (July 29).
Meanwhile, Takungpao reported China announced that it would stage seven military drills in the South China Sea, Taiwan Strait, and East China Sea between Friday and Saturday (July 30), with more planned on Tuesday (Aug. 2).
Pelosi’s potential visit also became a topic of discussion during a call between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平). Though Biden has no authority to stop Pelosi from visiting, Time reported that Xi warned Biden not to “play with fire.”
