White House decries China rhetoric over Pelosi Taiwan visit
WASHINGTON — The White House on Monday decried Beijing’s rhetoric over an expected visit by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, vowing the United States “will not take the bait or engage in saber-rattling” and has no interest in increasing tensions with China.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby underscored that the decision on whether to visit the self-ruled island that China claims as its own was ultimately Pelosi’s. He noted that members of Congress have routinely visited Taiwan over the years.
Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (2nd L) leaves the Shangri-La Hotel after a reception organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore on August 1, 2022. (ROSLAN RAHMAN/)
Kirby said administration officials are concerned that Beijing could use the visit as an excuse to take provocative retaliatory steps, including military action such as firing missiles in the Taiwan Strait or around Taiwan.
“Put simply, there is no reason for Beijing to turn a potential visit consistent with longstanding U.S. policy into some sort of crisis or use it as a pretext to increase aggressive military activity in or around the Taiwan Strait,” Kirby said.
The Biden administration pushed back on Beijing as Pelosi (D-Calif.) held talks Monday with officials in Singapore at the start of her Asian tour.
In this photo provided by Ministry of Communications and Information, Singapore, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, left, and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong shake hands at the Istana Presidential Palace in Singapore, Monday, Aug. 1, 2022. Pelosi arrived in Singapore early Monday, kicking off her Asian tour as questions swirled over a possible stop in Taiwan that has fueled tension with Beijing. (Mohd Fyrol/Official Photographer/MCI/)
While there have been no official announcements, local media in Taiwan reported that Pelosi will arrive Tuesday night, making her the highest-ranking elected U.S. 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 she would arrive in Taipei after visiting Malaysia and spend the night.
Talk of such a visit is sparking fury in 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 resolute and strong measures to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said in Beijing, without giving details.
FILE - In this Oct. 10, 2020, file photo, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen delivers a speech during National Day celebrations in front of the Presidential Building in Taipei, Taiwan. (Chiang Ying-ying/)
“Those who play with fire will perish by it,” Zhao said. “We would like to once again admonish the U.S. that we are fully prepared for any eventuality and the PLA will never sit idly by.” The People’s Liberation Army is China’s military.
Chinese President Xi Jinping also warned the U.S. against meddling in Beijing’s dealings with the island in a phone call last week with President Biden.
FILE - This combination image shows U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington, Nov. 6, 2021, and China's President Xi Jinping in Brasília, Brazil, Nov. 13, 2019. (Alex Brandon, Eraldo Peres/)
China has been steadily ratcheting up diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan. Threats of retaliation for a visit by Pelosi have driven concerns of a new crisis in the Taiwan Strait, which separates the two sides, that could roil global markets and supply chains.
Beijing sees official American contact with Taiwan as encouragement to make the island’s decades-old de facto independence permanent, a step U.S. leaders say they don’t support. Pelosi would be the highest-ranking elected American official to visit Taiwan since then-Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) in 1997.
FILE - U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, right, speaks with Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui at a meeting in Lee's office in Taipei Wednesday, April 2, 1997. (EDDIE SHIH/)
The Biden administration has tried to assure Beijing there was no reason to “come to blows” and that if such a visit occurred, it would signal no change in U.S. policy. Administration officials called Monday on China to tone down the rhetoric, underscoring that there was no reason for Beijing to escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait over the potential visit.
“What I can say is this: this is very much precedent in the sense that previous speakers have visited Taiwan, many members of Congress go to Taiwan, including this year,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. “And so, if the speaker does decide to visit and China tries to create some kind of crisis or otherwise escalate tensions, that would be entirely on Beijing.”
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.”
The House speaker’s schedule for Wednesday remains unclear and there were no details on when she will head to Japan.
