Nancy Pelosi has invited senior lawmakers to join her on a trip to Taiwan, according to a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, providing the first apparent confirmation of the widely speculated visit.
A potential visit by the speaker of the US House of Representatives to Taiwan is at the center of spiraling tensions involving the island, China and the US, which analysts say is at its most dangerous point in decades.
Military activity in the region has also raised concerns, with reports of a US strike group moving through the South China Sea and a Chinese armed drone flying east of Taiwan as the island began its annual defense exercises.
Texas Republican and senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCaul and Democrat Anna Eshoo, who is described by NBC as a close Pelosi ally, told NBC on Wednesday that they were invited to Taiwan by Pelosi. Both were canceled due to scheduling conflicts.
The recorded comments from McCaul and Eshoo are the first apparent confirmation of the planned trip since it was reported last week by the Financial Times. There has been no official confirmation from the spokesman or the White House, and Taipei will not comment until it does.
Supporters of the trip say it would be a strong show of support for Taiwan, which Beijing claims is a breakaway Chinese province that must be reunified, by force if necessary. However, some have expressed concern that the timing – reported to be next month – comes at a particularly sensitive time in domestic Chinese politics, which could prompt a more aggressive response from Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“Any member who wants to go should. It shows political deterrence on the part of President Xi,” McCaul told NBC. “But [Pelosi] they should also pay attention to the military if they are going to backfire and escalate things.”
Beijing has strongly objected to a visit by Pelosi, who would be the highest-ranking US government official since then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich visited in 1997. Officials have warned of “consequences” if the visit goes ahead, with some speculation that there may be military activity that could escalate or cause an incident.
In recent years, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force has sent an increasing number of warplanes into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) amid increased “grey zone” activities designed to test Taiwan’s responsiveness and drain its resources.
On Monday, Japan’s defense ministry said a Chinese armed reconnaissance drone had flown near Taiwan on a solo mission for the first time. It tracked a PLA TB-001 drone across the Miyako Strait, from the East China Sea to the Pacific Ocean near Taiwan. The next day, Taiwan’s president boarded a warship in the area to inspect the defense exercises, leading some analysts to suggest the drone flight was a warning. Taiwan’s military exercises this week are planned annually and are not specifically related to current events.
It is unclear where the drone ended its journey, with some news outlets reporting that it circled the island. The Guardian did not confirm the information.
Here is the tracking map provided by Japan’s Ministry of Defense to the PLA drone on Monday. There are some reports that he went around the island, but did he? Was he still there when Tsai boarded a warship off Ilan? pic.twitter.com/PFttFpar7Q
— Helen Davidson (@heldavidson) July 28, 2022
Taiwan’s ministry did not report the discovery, but reported other flights by PLA aircraft in the southwestern ADIZ that day. Chinese state media took advantage of Taiwan’s silence, accusing it of failing to detect the drone, demonstrating “huge gaps in their air defense systems.”
Tensions surrounding Pelosi’s visit and heightened activity have raised concerns that the situation could escalate, but some analysts cautioned against linking military movements. “For Taiwan, China’s military threats are always there,” said Fang-yu Chen, a political science scholar at Suchow University. “I’m not saying they’re not a threat. I mean, threats are so common that we don’t need to interpret them too much.
On Wednesday, US officials said that if Pelosi went to Taiwan, the US military would increase the movement of forces and assets in the Indo-Pacific. On Thursday, the South China Morning Post reported that a US strike group led by the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan had left Singapore – where it had been docked – for the South China Sea. He was previously stationed in Yokosuka, Japan. The reason for his current trip is unclear, and the US mission in Taipei declined to comment.
Add Comment