There’s no reason for China and the United States to “come to blows” if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi travels to Taiwan on an upcoming trip to Asia, the White House said on Friday, highlighting international tensions surrounding his travel plans.
The remarks by National Security Council spokesman John Kirby came as Pelosi, D-Calif., offered a rationale for a visit to Asia that she had yet to publicly acknowledge. Kirby was asked on Friday if the United States had noticed any Chinese military preparations because of his travel plans.
“There’s no reason for it to come to this, to come to blows, to increase physical tension,” Kirby said at the White House. “There is no reason for this as there has been no change in US policy regarding One China.”
Appearing to pause just before saying she would be going there, Pelosi said: ‘I’m very excited that we’re going to the countries, which you’ll hear about along the way about the conversations’ she would have. the low.
She noted President Joe Biden’s focus on Asia and referenced his recent trip to South Korea and Japan, telling reporters, “He’s been there, his vice president surrendered, the Secretary of Commerce and others. And we want the United States Congress to be part of this initiative.
Pelosi and her aides did not confirm her travel plans or name the countries she might visit, citing security concerns. China regards Taiwan as its own territory and has said it could reclaim island democracy by force.
For more than four decades, the United States has followed a “one China” policy in which it recognizes Beijing as the government of China while maintaining informal relations and defense ties with Taiwan.
China has strenuously opposed any visit by Pelosi to Taiwan, warning of “resolute and strong action” if she does.
Biden said earlier this month that the Pentagon believed a trip by Pelosi to Taiwan was “not a good idea at this time.” Senior defense officials who briefed reporters on Friday declined to discuss any potential preparations for travel.
Biden has designed his foreign policy in part to counter China’s growing economic and military might. Pelosi’s itinerary has also become a domestic political issue, with some Republicans urging her to travel to Taiwan to show she opposes Beijing.
Kirby said Friday that Pelosi “doesn’t need and we don’t offer approval or disapproval” to travel. And he said, “The speaker has the right to travel on a military plane.”
The military regularly provides planes for lawmakers’ trips, which presidents have the rarely used power to refuse. In a highly unusual move, then-President Donald Trump stopped Pelosi and other lawmakers from using a military plane to fly to Afghanistan during a 2019 battle against the government shutdown and after told him to delay his State of the Union address.
The Independent Gt