Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the Chinese military "would not sit with their arms folded" if US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan.
As Reuters writes, this next warning was against the background of media reports that Pelosi may make an unscheduled arrival in Taipei on August 2. Lijian says that because of Pelosiʼs status as the "No. 3 official in the U.S. government," her visit to Taiwan "will have egregious political consequences."
Meanwhile, the Japanese publication Nikkei Asia writes that American warships have gone to the shores of Taiwan. Among them are the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, which returned to the South China Sea after entering the port of Singapore, the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli, which is near Okinawa, and the amphibious assault ship USS America (departed from Japan).
Hawaii is home to the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, 37 warships and three more submarines that may also go to Taiwan.
It appears the military is creating a buffer zone for Pelosiʼs plane in case she decides to visit Taiwan.
- The Chinese army has been actively building up its military power near Taiwan for the past three years. Since 2020, Chinaʼs official rhetoric has allowed "reunification" with Taiwan as a result of an armed invasion. Chinese leader Xi Jinping called on the military to "concentrate all their minds and energies on preparing for war." On May 23, 2022, the US president said that Washington is ready to use military force if China tries to seize Taiwan.
- On July 30, Nancy Pelosi started her Asian tour. Its route includes Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore. Taiwan is not officially listed as a place to visit. The day before, China had already threatened the US with a military response.
- Pelosi is the third-ranking US official and will be the highest-ranking US politician to visit Taiwan since 1997. Joe Biden said that according to the military, Pelosiʼs visit was not a good idea, but called the Chinese criticism of the trip "clearly futile and unnecessary."