USA NSA coordinator John Kirby said US spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi has not yet confirmed her travel plans to Taiwan, but she has a right to visit Taiwan and her visit is not “unusual”.
US National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby said on Monday that US President Nancy Pelosi has not yet confirmed her travel plans to Taiwan, but she has the right to visit Taiwan and does not travel. ” Extraordinary “.
“If she leaves it is not unprecedented, it is not new,” Kirby said, adding that “the speaker has not confirmed any travel plans and it is up to the speaker and his staff.”
“The speaker has the right to visit Taiwan… We will not comment or speculate on the stages of his visit,” he said.
According to media reports, the US House Speaker is expected to reach Taiwan on August 2 and meet Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.
The media, citing a senior Taiwanese government official and a US official, said Pelosi would visit Taiwan with scheduled meetings with government officials on the self-ruled island, which China has threatened to overrun by force.
The Taiwanese official said that he should stay in Taiwan overnight. It is unclear when exactly Pelosi will land in Taipei.
Since the report of the US House speaker’s visit was released last month, Beijing has warned of Nancy’s visit to Taiwan, saying it will act vigorously and retaliate if the US side insists on continuing the trip.
Chinese officials said Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan would violate one China policy and aid an illegal insurgency. A Chinese state media said the visit to Taiwan is definitely a red line that Pelosi should never cross.
Kirby Said The Biden Administration Would Support Pelosi On Her Visit To Taiwan.
“We want to make sure that when he travels abroad, he can do it safely and securely and we will make sure. There is no reason for Chinese rhetoric. There is no reason to take any action. It is Congress leaders.” It’s not unusual to go to Taiwan,” CNN quoted Kirby as saying.
The US official said Defense Department officials are working round the clock to monitor any Chinese activity in the area and ensure a plan to keep it safe.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it was up to Pelosi to decide whether to go, adding: “We don’t know what President Pelosi wants to do”.
“The Congress is an independent and equal branch of the government. The decision rests entirely with the President,” he said.
Blinken said the visit has precedents, noting that past speakers and congressmen have visited Taiwan.
“And so if the speaker decides to travel and China tries to create some sort of crisis or escalate tensions, it will be entirely on Beijing,” Blinken said. Act responsibly and don’t indulge in any kind of growth in future.”
Nancy Pelosi, who is second from the Oval Office after the US vice president, is also expected to meet with other high-ranking officials during her stay in Taiwan on Tuesday and is expected to leave the island the next day.
“She will definitely come,” people with whom Pelosi plans to meet in Taiwan previously reported her arrival to the Wall Street Journal. “The only variable is whether she spends the night in Taipei.”
While there has been no official announcement for Pelosi’s visit, the first stop for a US House speaker in 25 years, Pelosi is not currently on the public itinerary and comes at a time when US-China relations are already low. are on point.
In April, Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan was postponed after she tested positive for COVID-19. At the time, Beijing strongly opposed any official trade between the US and Taiwan and insisted that the US stick to the One China principle, which is the political basis of Sino-US relations.
China says that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to the same China. You strongly oppose the separatist steps towards “Taiwan independence”.
Meanwhile, Pelosi began her Asia tour, paid a courtesy call on President Halima Yacoub, the delegation she led, and also met Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Monday.
Source – https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/house-speaker-nancy-pelosi-has-right-to-visit-taiwan-john-kirby-122080200101_1.html
