Nancy Pelosi, on the move in Asia, will she go to Taiwan?

“In Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan, we will hold high-level meetings to discuss how we can promote our common values ​​and interests, including peace and security, economic growth and development. trade, the Covid-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, human rights and democratic governance,” she added, without mentioning Taiwan in her itinerary.

A motorcade probably carrying the senior official was spotted in Singapore, where she is due to meet the Prime Minister and the President.

military tension

For weeks, tensions between the United States and China have been rising over reports that it may visit the self-governing island, which China considers part of its territory. Beijing would see a passage, even brief, of the speaker of the House of Representatives on the island as a provocation.

Delegations of US officials travel to Taiwan frequently to express their support, but a visit by Nancy Pelosi, one of the state’s most senior figures and one of the heavyweights in American political life, would be unprecedented since that of her predecessor. Newt Gingrich in 1997.

The United States practices a so-called “strategic ambiguity” diplomacy with regard to Taiwan, consisting of recognizing only one Chinese government, that of Beijing, while continuing to provide decisive support to Taipei but refraining from saying whether or not they would defend the island militarily in the event of an invasion. It is this concept that has so far made it possible to maintain a certain stability in the region.

An interview between Biden and Xi Jinping

A visit to Taiwan by Nancy Pelosi, a central figure in President Joe Biden’s Democratic majority, would singularly complicate the task of American diplomacy, which is trying hard not to poison relations with China. It would also come as military tension rises in the region.

Last week, during a rare direct exchange with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, US President Joe Biden assured that the United States’ position on Taiwan had “not changed” and that his country “strongly opposes unilateral efforts to change the status quo or threaten peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. For his part, Xi Jinping had called on Joe Biden not to “play with fire”, and a spokesman for Chinese diplomacy had spoken of Nancy Pelosi’s trip to the island as a “red line” .

On Monday, some 4,000 American and Indonesian soldiers began a major joint military exercise, but Washington assured that these maneuvers did not target any country. The Taiwanese military for its part carried out its most important annual military exercises last week, which included simulations of intercepting Chinese attacks from the sea.

Meanwhile, the US aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and its flotilla left Singapore for the South China Sea as part of a scheduled operation, the US Navy said. And on Saturday, in response, China held a “live ammunition” military exercise in the Taiwan Strait.

A call for calm

Washington has sought to downplay Nancy Pelosi’s possible visit to Taiwan and called on Chinese leaders for calm. “We have many differences when it comes to Taiwan, but over the past 40 years we have managed those differences and done so in a way that has preserved peace and stability,” the Secretary of State said on Friday. State Antony Blinken.

In Taiwan, opinions are divided on the prospect of a visit by Nancy Pelosi, but senior figures from the ruling party and the opposition have said the island must not give in to Chinese pressure.

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