Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, is reported to be planning a trip to Taiwan, which has angered China and given the White House a major geopolitical headache. How serious is this issue?
Chinese officials have threatened “severe consequences” if Mrs. Pelosi goes through with her visit.
Mrs. Pelosi, who is second in line for the presidency, would be the most senior US official to visit the island since 1997.
This infuriates China, which sees Taiwan, which is self-governing, as a province that should reunify with China. Beijing has left open the possibility of using force to accomplish this.
The California Democrat has allegedly been discouraged from going even by the Biden administration.
According to the state department, Mrs Pelosi has not made any travel plans, and the US policy toward Taiwan is unaltered.
The US has formal diplomatic relations with China, not Taiwan, although maintaining what it terms a “strong, unofficial relationship” with Taiwan.
If Ms Pelosi’s travel were to take place, it would also occur at a time when Washington and Beijing are experiencing greater tensions and just before US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are scheduled to speak on the phone.
Both in the US Congress and among the American people, Taiwan enjoys broad support from both political parties.
Speaker Pelosi has also made a point of criticising China over the course of her 35-year political tenure.
Chinese government representatives have complained bitterly about what they see as an increase in diplomatic contact between Taipei and Washington. This includes six US congressmen who unexpectedly paid the island a visit in April.
On Monday, Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, issued a warning that if Mrs Pelosi went ahead with her visit, his nation would take “strong and uncompromising measures.”
And all of the severe repercussions will be the US’s fault, he added.
There may even be a military response, according to a spokesman for China’s defence ministry.
Colonel Tan Kefei told China Daily that if the US side insists on moving forward, “the Chinese military will never stand still and would take forceful steps to block any external intervention and separatist moves for “Taiwan independence.”
