The president of the US House of Representatives, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, landed this Tuesday at the Songshan airport in Taipei, Taiwan, as part of her Asian tour, a possibility that had been advanced by US and Taiwanese media.
Pelosi’s visit, which has deeply irritated the Chinese government, had not been officially confirmed and the destination of her flight had remained blank since the senior official took off from Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), where she arrived from Singapore, the first destination of your Asian tour.
turn up the tension
Speculation about the trip has raised tensions between China and the United States, as Taiwan is one of the biggest stumbling blocks in their relations. This is the first trip to Taiwan by a speaker of the US House of Representatives since 1997.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying had said on Tuesday that Taiwan would face “disastrous consequences” if the visit took place. “It is difficult to imagine a more reckless and provocative action” than Pelosi’s visit, assured the Foreign Ministry, which has assured that China has already recently warned that it would not “stand idly by”.
Hua has also dismissed statements by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the “independent” status of the US House of Representatives, to disassociate the possible trip from the US government.
It is not yet known what Beijing’s response will be. This Tuesday, Taiwanese media reported the sighting of a Chinese destroyer ship on Lanyu Island, controlled by Taipei and located 64 kilometers from Taiwan, while Chinese naval authorities announced the closure of maritime traffic in areas of the South China Sea due to military maneuvers.
China claims sovereignty over the island and has considered Taiwan a rebellious province since the Kuomintang nationalists withdrew there in 1949 after losing the civil war against the communists. Although the United States does not maintain official relations with Taiwan, it is its main supplier of weapons and would be its greatest ally in the event of a war with China.
Taiwan, with whom the North American country does not maintain official relations, is one of the main sources of conflict between China and the United States, mainly because Washington is Taiwan’s main arms supplier and would be its greatest military ally in the event of a conflict. war with the Asian giant.
Pelosi’s visit comes less than a week after Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden held a telephone conversation on July 28 in which Xi reiterated Beijing’s opposition “to Taiwan’s independence” and “external interference”.
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