Pelosi leaves U.S. for Asia tour without mentioning stop in Taiwan

Washington, Jul 31 (Prensa Latina) The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, today began a tour of four Asian countries without mentioning Taiwan in the official itinerary.

The parliamentary leader heads a US congressional delegation that this Sunday began a tour of Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan, according to the program released.

Our entourage will hold high-level meetings to discuss our shared interests and values, peace and security, economic growth and trade, Covid-19, the climate crisis, human rights and democratic governance, Pelosi said in a statement.

For several weeks tensions between the United States and China have been escalating over the possibility of the Democratic leader visiting Taiwan, a step that Beijing considers a challenge to its red line and, if it were to materialize, promised “firm countermeasures”.

Zhao Lijian, spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emphasized that if the trip takes place, Washington will be held responsible for any consequences.

The spokesman was responding to the U.S. military’s plans to step up operations, deployment of personnel, equipment and war vehicles in the Asia-Pacific region, amid fears of a possible Chinese attack on Pelosi’s plane.

Last Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden had a telephone conversation with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in the midst of the tensions.

In an official statement, the White House said that in the nearly two and a half hour dialogue Washington reiterated that it “strongly opposes unilateral efforts to change the status quo in Taiwan or undermine peace and stability”.

Xi, for his part, warned the U.S. president not to “play with fire” for the island, considered a historic part of China.

In May, the U.S. president stated that his country would defend Taiwan in the event of an “invasion” by Beijing, although the White House quickly tried to correct these statements.

Since 1979 the United States has supported the “one China” principle and although it does not officially recognize Taiwan, it supports it militarily.