Tension escalates hours ahead of Pelosi’s potential Taiwan visit

— China says PLA remains ‘fully prepared for any crisis’

BEIJING: U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is set to lead an official Congressional delegation to Asia on Friday, although it remains unclear whether the trip will include a stop in the Taiwan region, according to NBC News citing two sources familiar with the matter.

One of the sources who reviewed the itinerary said it listed a Taiwan visit as “tentative.” If she visits, the trip would make her the most senior U.S. lawmaker to visit the island since 1997. Beijing says it’s fully prepared to respond with “strong measures” if Pelosi does visit.

On the evening of July 28, Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke with his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden on the phone at the request of the latter. President Xi made clear the importance of the three China-U.S. joint communiqués signed between 1972 and 1982, and said that the one-China principle serves as the political foundation for bilateral relations.

China firmly opposes separatist moves toward “Taiwan independence” and interference by external forces, and never allows any room for “Taiwan independence” forces in whatever form, Xi said. In response, President Biden reiterated that the U.S.’ one-China policy has not changed and will not change, and that the U.S. does not support “Taiwan independence.”

The intensity of the situation across the Taiwan Straits has drastically escalated as the military deployment from the Chinese mainland, US and the island of Taiwan continues creeping up, after US and Taiwan-based media disclosed that US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to visit the island on Tuesday night, a serious provocation and violation to China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity which would be met with severe countermeasures from the Chinese military.

According to the website of China’s Maritime Safety Administration, the Shandong Maritime Safety Administration issued a navigation warning, saying that the Weifang port in Bohai Sea will conduct live fire from 15:00 to 24:00 on August 3. The Qinglan Maritime Safety Administration of South China’s Guangdong Province also issued a navigation warning due to conducting military training in parts of the South China Sea from Tuesday to Saturday.

Citing “officials”, Taiwan-based media on Monday said Pelosi is expected to land in Taipei on Tuesday evening and stay in Taipei overnight at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Xinyi district. CNN also released similar information, saying that “Pelosi is expected to visit Taiwan as part of her tour of Asia.”

The Fujian Provincial Military Command neighboring Taiwan posted videos and pictures on Tuesday about a live-fire exercise, which aims to “test overall combat capability under complex conditions.” It said that the minuteman missile unit, anti-aircraft artillery unit, radar unit and other combat units participated in the exercise, the first time in recent years that a provincial military command has organized a multi-branch and multi-professional militia to conduct live fire

Citing an anonymous source, the Reuters reported on Tuesday that several People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircrafts flew close to the “median line” of the Taiwan Straits on Tuesday morning, following the Taiwan-based outlets that said two Chinese mainland guided-missile frigates and a survey ship sailed from north to south through Yonaguni Island waters, heading east of Taiwan island.

One-China principle is bottom line of China’s ties with other countries: Wang Yi

Meanwhile, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday that the one-China principle is the consensus of the international community, the political foundation for China’s ties with other countries, the core of China’s key interests, and a red line and bottom line that cannot be crossed.

He made the remarks during an interview after attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. Earlier, he visited the Central Asian countries and met with leaders of those countries. Wang said all leaders firmly support the one-China principle and regard the Taiwan region as a part of China.

The leaders also opposed external forces interfering in China’s internal affairs, Wang said, adding that the one-China principle is widely recognized by the international community.

Talking about the Taiwan question, Wang said that some people in the U.S. are constantly challenging China’s sovereignty and deliberately stirring up trouble across the Taiwan Straits. China will never accept such moves, Wang said.

Some U.S. politicians “play with fire” on the Taiwan question and there will never be a good ending for them, Wang warned. The U.S. is behaving like a bully, which makes the international community realize that the U.S. is the biggest peace breaker of the world, he added.

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