KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi left Malaysia on Tuesday and is expected to visit Taiwan, a move that has heightened tensions with China, which claims the self-ruled island as its own territory.
China began military maneuvers off the coast of Taiwan on Tuesday with two aircraft carriers that are out of their bases and sailing hours before the possible arrival in Taiwan on Pelosi Island, a visit that Beijing has opposed.
The aircraft carrier Liaoning left its base in the port of Qingdao (Shandong province, east) on Sunday, while the Shandong set sail on Monday from the port of Sanya (Hainan province, south) accompanied by an amphibious assault ship, the official daily reported. GlobalTimes.
The plane carrying Pelosi and her delegation departed from a Malaysian air force base after a brief stopover that included lunch with Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, an official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give details to the public. the media.
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Pelosi is on an Asian tour this week that is being closely watched to see if she defies China's warnings not to visit Taiwan.
It was unclear where she was headed from Malaysia, but local Taiwanese media reported that she would arrive Tuesday night, becoming the highest-ranking US official to visit the country in more than 25 years.
The United Daily News, the Liberty Times and the China Times - Taiwan's three largest national newspapers - quoted unnamed sources as saying that she would spend the night on the island.
Taiwan's Foreign Ministry declined to comment.
Prime Minister Su Tseng-chang did not explicitly confirm Pelosi's visit, but said Tuesday that "any foreign guests and friendly lawmakers" are "very welcome."
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China, which regards Taiwan as a rogue province to be annexed by force if necessary, has repeatedly warned it will retaliate if Pelosi visits the country, saying its military "will never sit idly by".
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"The United States and Taiwan have colluded to make provocations first, and China has only been forced to act out of self-defense," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters in Beijing on Tuesday.
Hua said that China has been in constant communication with the US and made it clear "how dangerous it would be if the visit actually happens."
Any countermeasures China takes will be "justified and necessary" in the face of Washington's "unscrupulous behavior," she said.
China's military threats have raised concerns of a new crisis in the Taiwan Strait, which separates the two sides, that could shake global markets and supply chains.
The White House on Monday denounced Beijing's rhetoric, saying the United States has no interest in escalating tensions with China and "will not take the bait or engage in saber rattling."
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby stressed that the decision whether or not to visit Taiwan was ultimately up to Pelosi.
He noted that members of Congress have regularly visited the island over the years.
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (L) greets her Malaysian counterpart Azhar Azizan Harun at Parliament in Kuala Lumpur on August 2, 2022. Malaysian Department of Information via AP
Kirby said administration officials are concerned that China could use the visit as an excuse to take provocative action, including military action such as launching missiles into the Taiwan Strait or around Taiwan, or conducting sorties in the island's airspace and conducting large-scale naval exercises in the strait.
“Simply put, there is no reason for Beijing to turn a possible visit consistent with US policy into some kind of crisis or use it as a pretext to increase aggressive military activity in or around the Taiwan Strait,” Kirby said.
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also urged China to "act responsibly" if Pelosi goes ahead with the visit.
"If the speaker of the House of Representatives decides to visit the country and China tries to create some kind of crisis or escalate tensions, that would be Beijing's responsibility," he told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York.
"We hope that in the event that she decides to visit us, they will act responsibly and not participate in any escalation in the future," she added.
US officials have said the US military would increase its movement of forces and assets in the Indo-Pacific region if Pelosi visits Taiwan.
The US Navy aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and its strike group were in the Philippine Sea on Monday, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.
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The Reagan, the cruiser USS Antietam and the destroyer USS Higgins left Singapore after a port visit and headed north to their home port of Japan.
The carrier carries a number of aircraft, including F/A-18 fighters and helicopters, as well as sophisticated radar systems and other weapons.
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Taiwan and China split in 1949 after the communists won a civil war on the mainland.
The United States maintains informal relations and defense ties with Taiwan, although it recognizes Beijing as the government of China.
China sees official US contact with Taiwan as an encouragement to make the island's decades-long de facto independence permanent, a move US leaders say they do not support.
Pelosi, head of one of the three branches of the US government, would be the highest-ranking US official to visit Taiwan since then House Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1997.
Pelosi kicked off her Asian tour in Singapore on Monday, as her possible visit to Taiwan sparked nervousness in the region.
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Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong "highlighted the importance of stable US-China relations for regional peace and security" during talks with Pelosi, according to the city-state's Foreign Ministry.
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Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi echoed this statement in Tokyo, saying that stable ties between the two rival powers "are extremely important to the international community as well."
The Philippines urged the United States and China to be "responsible actors" in the region.
"It is important that the United States and China ensure continuous communication to avoid any miscalculation and further escalation of tensions," Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Teresita Daza said.
China has continued to increase diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan.
China cut off all contact with the Taiwanese government in 2016 after President Tsai Ing-wen refused to endorse her claim that the island and the mainland together form a single Chinese nation, with the communist regime in Beijing alone. legitimate government.
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On Thursday, Pelosi will meet with South Korean National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin Pyo in Seoul for talks on security in the Indo-Pacific region, economic cooperation and the climate crisis, according to Kim's office. .
Pelosi is also scheduled to visit Japan, but it is unclear when he will head there.