A man uses a magnifying glass to read a newspaper headline reporting on U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Asia visit, at a stand in Beijing, Sunday, July 31, 2022.
photo: Andy Wong/ AP
With the possible visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taipei, the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense announced today, Monday, that 4 Chinese fighters penetrated the island's airspace.
The ministry confirmed raising the state of maximum alert in preparation for Tuesday's possible visit.
For its part, the US National Security Council announced that Washington would not succumb to the Chinese threat over Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, stressing the Biden administration's support for a possible visit.
US and Taiwanese sources close to the military reported that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would stop in Taiwan Tuesday for one night.
The US sources said that an aircraft carrier, three submarines, and 36 US warships would participate in maneuvers in the Pacific Ocean.
Simultaneously, China also announced live-fire exercises to coincide with Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.
On Monday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry warned of the consequences of Pelosi's visit to Taipei if it decided to add Taiwan to its destinations in its Asian tour.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said, "In the event that the Speaker of the US House of Representatives visits Taiwan, the Chinese army will not remain idly by."
The latest warning was issued during a regular briefing by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, where ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said that because of Pelosi's "number three in the US administration," the visit to Taiwan "will have a serious political impact," according to "Reuters."
Nancy Pelosi arrived in Singapore early Monday morning at the start of her Asian tour.
A spokesman for the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Pelosi would meet President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, meet several government ministers and is expected to attend a party with the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore.
In a statement issued over the weekend, Pelosi said she would visit Malaysia, South Korea, and Japan to discuss trade, the coronavirus pandemic, climate change, security, and democratic governance. News reports did not confirm that she might visit Taiwan.
For his part, Chinese President Xi Jinping warned against interfering in Beijing's dealings with Taiwan during a phone call last week with his US counterpart, Joe Biden.
If she visits, Pelosi would be the highest-ranking US official to visit Taiwan since former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1997.
The Biden administration has tried to reassure Beijing that there is no reason to "attack" and that if such a visit occurred, it would not signal any change in US policy.