Comment President Biden said the US military does not support House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif) visiting Taiwan this summer. Stepping off Air Force One late Wednesday, Biden was asked about the possibility of a trip by Pelosi, which has not been confirmed by the State Department or her office. Biden said “the military doesn’t think it’s a good idea at this time,” but noted he wasn’t sure “what his status is.” China’s foreign ministry criticized Tuesday after media reports that Pelosi planned to visit the democratic island claimed by Beijing as part of a wider tour of Asia in August. China says it will take “coercive measures” if Pelosi visits Taiwan At her weekly news conference Thursday, Pelosi, who is second in line for the presidency, said she never discusses her travel plans because it is a matter of national security. “You never even hear me say if I’m going to London because it’s a security thing,” he told reporters. Earlier this week, her office said it would neither confirm nor deny international travel “in advance due to long-standing security protocols.” The Financial Times first reported the news of Pelosi’s trip, saying she would visit Singapore, Japan, Indonesia and Malaysia. Pressed by a reporter about Biden’s remarks, Pelosi said: “I think what the president was saying is that maybe the military was afraid that our plane was going to be shot down or something by the Chinese. I am not so sure. I did not see it. I did not hear it. You tell me that and I’ve heard it anecdotally,” he said. Pelosi had planned to lead a congressional delegation to Taiwan in April, but delayed her trip after contracting the coronavirus. A visit this summer would make her one of the highest-ranking U.S. politicians to travel to Taiwan in recent years and the first House speaker to go there since Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) did so in 1997. State Department spokesman Ned Price said this week that the trip has not been announced and remains “hypothetical.” Biden also told reporters he expects to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping “within the next 10 days.” He questioned whether he would raise the issue of tariffs and trade with the leader of the world’s second-largest economy, amid rising inflation in the United States. China-US relations remain strained — and Taiwan is a sensitive issue. “If the United States insists on going ahead, China should take firm and strong measures to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Tuesday. Such a trip would cause “serious harm,” he added, and “seriously affect the political foundations of China-US relations.” Pelosi, who has been critical of China over its stance on Taiwan, actually met in January with Taiwan’s Vice President William Lai Tsing-te while in the United States. He thanked Pelosi for standing up for human rights and called her a “true friend” of Taiwan. Analysis: China has a role in Sri Lanka’s economic disaster Beijing claims Taiwan as its own and is committed to achieving what it calls “reunification,” threatening to use force if necessary to take control of the self-ruled island. The United States has for decades walked a fine line, not taking a stand on Taiwan’s sovereignty status but repeatedly saying it opposes any unilateral changes to the status quo. During his first trip to Asia as president in May, Biden signaled a more confrontational approach to China and issued a sharp warning against any potential attack on Taiwan. Asked at the time if the United States would defend Taiwan militarily if attacked by Beijing, Biden said: “Yes, that’s the commitment we made.” His comment represented a departure from the usual US policy of strategic ambiguity on the issue and was quickly retracted by aides and criticized by Beijing at the time. Taiwan has been under military threat from Beijing since Communist forces defeated the Nationalists in the Chinese Civil War in 1949, prompting the Nationalists to flee to Taiwan and set up a rival government. Christian Shepherd and Missy Khamvongsa contributed to this report.
