– An escalation from China could have unintended consequences

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Nancy Pelosi, who leads the House of Representatives in the United States Congress, is currently on a tour of Asia. On Monday she was in Singapore. Several media reported on Monday that she plans to visit Taiwan, including CNN and The Wall Street Journal. China has strongly warned against this on several occasions. The US has still not confirmed whether she will go to Taiwan or not.

But on Monday evening at 8 pm (Norwegian time), the White House commented on her trip. John Kirby, a spokesman for the White House’s National Security Council, said Pelosi has the right to visit Taiwan — like other congressional politicians. He said she makes her own decisions about going there.

But he also said that she has not confirmed that she will visit the country.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said earlier on Monday that the military “will not sit still” if she visits Taiwan, according to Reuters.

– China appears to be positioning itself to take further steps in the coming days, including military provocation, Kirby said this evening, according to Reuters. He said the actions may contain false legal claims, such as that the Taiwan Strait is not an international waterway.

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The Taiwan Strait is a 180 km wide strait between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.

– The United States believes that escalation serves no one and that Beijing’s actions could have “unintended consequences,” Kirby said.

Nothing about Pelosi’s possible visit will change the status quo, according to the White House.
– We don’t want to bite, but we also don’t want to be intimidated by China’s rhetoric, said Kirby.

If Pelosi chooses to visit Taiwan, she will be the most senior American politician to visit the island since 1997. As a Democrat and speaker of the House of Representatives, she is considered by China as a proxy for Biden.

In a press release about the trip, it was said that she will visit Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan “to strengthen mutual security, economic partnership and democratic governance in the Indo-Pacific region”.

China and Taiwan held exercises

When Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke on the phone last week, Xi warned Biden against “playing with fire,” according to state-controlled Chinese media.

According to NTB, China held a military exercise off the coast of Taiwan on Saturday, where the Chinese navy, among other things, blocked sea areas between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.

Earlier this week, Taiwan conducted a major military exercise in which soldiers trained to prevent enemy soldiers from taking the capital, Taipei.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that they expect China to act responsibly and not engage in any escalation if Pelosi decides to visit Taiwan.

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