The Financial Times reported this week that Pelosi plans to travel to Taiwan in August, after a trip was canceled in April when the 82-year-old Democrat contracted Covid-19. Asked if he thought it was a good idea for the President of the Republic to visit Taiwan, Biden said the US Defense Department was against it. “The military doesn’t think it’s a good idea at this time,” he told reporters Wednesday afternoon. The White House did not respond to a question about who in the military — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin or Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs — held that view. A person familiar with the situation said the military has provided several updates on the matter. “Traditionally, the military has only determined risks and associated costs,” he said. The FT reported this week that Pelosi will lead a delegation of lawmakers to Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. The team is also expected to visit the US Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii. On Thursday, Pelosi told reporters, “I think it’s important for us to show support for Taiwan.” China this week said it would respond with “strong measures” if Pelosi goes ahead with the visit to Taiwan, a democratically-ruled country over which Beijing claims sovereignty. The latest speaker to visit Taiwan was Newt Gingrich, the Republican lawmaker. The speaker of the US House is second in the line of presidential succession, making a visit particularly important. The visit will take place at a very sensitive time for China. Pelosi planned to visit after the Aug. 1 anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army and months before the Communist Party holds its 20th Congress, when President Xi Jinping is expected to seek an unprecedented third term as leader. Mike Gallagher, a powerful Republican lawmaker on China policy, urged Pelosi to continue the trip. “This is a bad message from the president and a generally weak message for US foreign policy,” he said. “I call on Speaker Pelosi not to back down.” The debate over whether Pelosi should visit Taiwan comes amid growing concern about dynamic Chinese military activity around the island and concern over the possibility of Beijing taking military action. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, multinational companies have been asking for security updates on the possibility of the US and China going to war.

Underscoring these concerns, Biden recently said in Tokyo that the US would intervene militarily to defend Taiwan if it were attacked. Biden and Xi will almost certainly discuss Taiwan when they speak in the coming weeks. The US president said he expects to have a call with his Chinese counterpart within 10 days. In their latest virtual meeting, Biden told Xi it was important not to allow the intensifying competition between world powers to “turn into conflict.” At the Aspen Security Forum on Wednesday, CIA Director Bill Burns said he “would not underestimate President Xi’s determination to assert Chinese control. . . on Taiwan” and added that the risks of military action “are getting higher . . . the longer you spend in this decade.” Speaking about the effect Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would have on China’s calculations on Taiwan, he said Beijing was learning lessons from Moscow’s actions. “Our sense is that it probably affects less the question of whether the Chinese leadership might choose some years down the line to use force to control Taiwan, but how and when they would do so,” Burns said. “If there’s a lesson, I think they might learn from it [Russian president Vladimir] Putin’s experience in Ukraine, [it] it’s that you don’t achieve quick, decisive victories with overwhelming force. . . I suspect the lesson the Chinese leadership and military are learning is that you have to muster overwhelming force.” Follow Demetri Sevastopulo on Twitter