U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi was expected to arrive in Taipei later on Tuesday, people briefed on the matter said, as several Chinese warplanes flew close to the median line dividing the Taiwan Strait.
China has repeatedly warned against Pelosi going to Taiwan, which it claims as its own, while the United States said on Monday that it would not be intimidated by Chinese sabre rattling.
In addition to Chinese planes flying close to the median line of the strait, several Chinese warships have sailed near the unofficial dividing line since Monday, the source told Reuters. Chinese warships and aircraft squeezed the median line on Tuesday morning, the source said, an unusual move the person described as very provocative.
Chinese aircraft repeatedly conducted tactical moves of briefly touching the median line and circling back to the other side of the strait on Tuesday morning, while Taiwanese aircraft were on standby nearby, the person said.
The Chinese planes left the area in the afternoon, but the vessels remained, the person said. Neither side’s aircraft normally cross the median line.
Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said in a statement it has a full grasp of the military activities and will appropriately dispatch forces in reaction to any enemy threats
China’s defense and foreign ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Kirby said that nothing about Pelosi’s possible trip changed U.S. policy toward Taiwan and that Beijing was well aware the division of powers within the U.S. government meant Pelosi would make her own decisions about the visit.
The speaker has the right to visit Taiwan,” he told a White House briefing on Monday. During a phone call on July 28, Chinese President Xi Jinping warned President Joe Biden that Washington should abide by the one-China principle and that those who play with fire will perish by it.
Biden told Xi that U.S. policy on Taiwan had not changed and that Washington strongly opposes unilateral efforts to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
Beijing has never renounced using force to bring Taiwan under its control. Taiwan rejects China’s sovereignty claims and says only its people can decide the island’s future.
Dozens of protesters from pro-China groups gathered on Tuesday outside Taipei’s Grand Hyatt hotel, where local media speculated Pelosi might stay. Get out! Trouble maker Nancy Pelosi! one sign carried by a protestor read, as around 50 police officers looked on.
Taiwan residents, accustomed to being caught in the middle of China-U.S. tensions, expressed mixed views on a Pelosi visit.
