Pelosi apparently shortly before Taiwan visit - is there now an open conflict with China?

Created: 2022-08-02 05:15

By: Christiane Kühl, Sven Hauberg

Nancy Pelosi - here a few days before her departure - is currently traveling in Asia.

© Saul Loeb/AFP

As early as Tuesday, Nancy Pelosi could get off the plane in Taiwan - with unforeseeable consequences.

China is already threatening with its army.

Munich/Washington/Taipei – Nancy Pelosi is still in tropical Singapore, the first stop on her multi-day trip to Asia.

The speaker of the US House of Representatives could land in Taiwan as early as Tuesday (August 2) - and thus cause a scandal with China.

Pelosi herself has so far neither confirmed nor denied media reports about her planned visit to Taipei;

Taiwan is also not part of their official itinerary.

According to CNN, however, government officials from the USA and Taiwan have now confirmed that the 82-year-old wants to spend a night in Taipei;

they did not give an exact date for this.

The Taiwanese television station TVBS, however, reported, citing unspecified sources, that Pelosi would land in Taipei on Tuesday evening (local time).

Pelosi would be the highest-ranking US politician to visit Taiwan in decades.

The Democrat politician is number three in the US hierarchy after US President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris.

The last time a speaker of the House of Representatives had flown to Taiwan was in 1997.

China regards the democratically ruled Taiwan as a "breakaway province" and threatens military "reunification" - even though Taiwan was never part of the People's Republic.

The US has only informal relations with the Taipei government, but has committed to supplying the country with defense weapons.

China and Taiwan: That's what the conflict is about

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China: "Serious Consequences" in Pelosi's Trip to Taiwan

China has been threatening "serious consequences" for days if Pelosi actually travels to Taiwan.

Most recently, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Monday that "the Chinese side is fully prepared for all eventualities."

Without getting specific, Zhao also said, "The People's Liberation Army will not stand by and the Chinese side will certainly take vigorous and decisive measures to protect our sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Pelosi's possible visit was also the subject of a video call between Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping last Thursday.

"Whoever plays with fire gets burned," Xi said in the more than two-hour conversation, according to the official transcript.

Over the weekend, China also held military exercises near Taiwan that also used live ammunition.

The Luftwaffe also flew patrols in the region.

Spokesman Shen Jinke told the state-run

that the air force "has the firm will, full confidence and sufficient capability to defend China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Pelosi trip: Controversy also in US domestic politics

Pelosi's visit to Taiwan is controversial in US politics.

Among other things, safety concerns were expressed.

According to this, China could try to push the politician's plane away.

A possible launch was also apparently discussed, as Pelosi indicated.

The US military is already in the process of relocating aircraft and the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan along with escort ships near Taiwan, according to the Japanese magazine

reported.

Beijing wants to set up a buffer zone for the politician's plane if she actually flies to Taipei.

US President Biden has so far been rather cautious about Pelosi's plans;

the week before last he simply said, "I don't think the military thinks it's a good idea at the moment, but I don't know how things are." Presidential advisers are said to have urged Pelosi to cancel her visit.

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While Pelosi received support from former Republican Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ("Nancy, I'm going with you!"), right-wing Trump supporter Marjorie Taylor Green slammed Pelosi, "Why is it so important for Speaker Pelosi to fly to Taiwan?" wrote Taylor Green on Twitter.

“Why is she dragging our military into this and blaming them for her life?

Instead of staying in America and solving the problems plaguing our people, she is provoking war with the unpredictable Communist Party.”

Taiwan: Hardly any public reactions to Pelosi debate

So far, there have been few reactions from Taiwan itself to the reports of Pelosi's visit.

Prime Minister Su Tseng-chang said last week that Pelosi was "very grateful for her strong support and kindness towards Taiwan over the past few years."

President Tsai Ing-wen, on the other hand, has not made any public statements about Pelosi.

On the one hand, Taipei repeatedly receives high-ranking foreign guests, most recently the Vice President of the European Parliament, Nicola Beer.

On the other hand, the Taiwanese government should be aware that a Pelosi visit could provoke a harsh reaction from Beijing.

Internationally, Pelosi's possible trip to Taiwan provoked mixed reactions.

"I think the worst thing Nancy Pelosi could do is not come - as that would set a precedent for China to intimidate senior US politicians," former Australian defense minister Christopher Pyne said in an interview with The

.

In Germany, FDP parliamentary group leader Alexander Graf Lambsdorff warned in the

of "catastrophic consequences, also for our economy" should China launch an attack on Taiwan.

Experts expect China to attack Taiwan

The CDU foreign policy expert Roderich Kiesewetter told the same newspaper that he feared that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could come much earlier than previously assumed: "The Chinese government could see a strategic advantage in an earlier attack because the West is currently developing a lot of capacity in the Russia Conflict binds.” US military and intelligence officials have also been speculating more recently about “when” than “if” a Chinese attack.

Years between 2024 and 2035 are brought into play - and thus a wide range.

On the first stop of her Asia trip, Pelosi met President Halimah Yacob and Premier Lee Hsien Loong in Singapore.

Singapore's Foreign Ministry said Lee stressed the importance of his city-state's relations with the United States and American commitment.

Both delegations exchanged views on important international and regional developments.

On the other hand, not a word was said about Taiwan.

Other stops on Pelosi's official itinerary include Malaysia, South Korea and Japan.