National security officials are quietly working to convince House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of the risks her potential trip to Taiwan could pose during a highly sensitive moment between the self-governing island and China,
CNN reports.
Sources familiar with the speaker's plans say she is planning to visit in the coming weeks as part of a broader trip to Asia and has invited both Democrats and Republicans to accompany her. If she goes, she would be the first House speaker to visit in a quarter century.
The possible trip is highlighting the concerns within President Joe Biden's administration over China's designs on Taiwan as Beijing has stepped up its rhetoric and aggressive actions toward the island in recent months, including sending warplanes into Taiwan's self-declared air defense identification zone several times. US officials have expressed concern that those moves could be precursors to even more aggressive steps by China in the coming months meant to assert its authority over the island.
The war in Ukraine has only intensified those worries, as Biden and other top officials nervously watch to see what lessons China may be taking from the Western response to Russia's aggression.
Meanwhile, China's President Xi Jinping -- with whom Biden expects to speak this week -- is believed to be laying the groundwork for an unprecedented third term as president in the fall, contributing to the tense geopolitics in the region. Biden's call with Xi was in the works before Pelosi's potential visit to Taiwan became public, officials noted.
Administration officials have shared their concerns not only about Pelosi's security during the trip, but also worries about how China may respond to such a high-profile visit. With China recently reporting its worst economic performance in two years, Xi finds himself in a politically sensitive place ahead of an important meeting regarding extending his reign and could use a political win, multiple officials told CNN.
While Biden's aides have ideas about how he could potentially respond, they aren't sure which direction the Chinese leader will choose.
It is against that highly charged backdrop that Pelosi has proposed visiting Taiwan with a congressional delegation, a trip that she has so far declined to confirm publicly. But that has not stopped China from lashing out, saying a visit would violate US policy toward the island.
China's Ministry of National Defense on Tuesday said Pelosi's trip should be canceled, warning that China's military would "resolutely defend national sovereignty" if faced with "external forces" encouraging Taiwanese independence.
"China demands the US take concrete actions to fulfill its commitment not to support 'Taiwan independence' and not to arrange for Pelosi to visit Taiwan," Ministry of Defense Spokesperson Tan Kefei said Tuesday in response to questions over Pelosi's reported trip to Taipei.
"If the US insists on taking its own course, the Chinese military will never sit idly by, and it will definitely take strong actions to thwart any external force's interference and separatist's schemes for 'Taiwan independence,' and resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity," Tan added.
