Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi confirmed on Sunday that she was on her way to Asia, without mentioning a possible stopover in Taiwan which could further sour relations between China and the United States.
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“I am leading a congressional delegation to the Indo-Pacific region to reaffirm America’s unwavering commitment to its allies and friends in the region,” Pelosi said in a statement.
“In Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan, we will hold high-level meetings to discuss how we can promote our common values and interests including peace and security, economic growth and trade. , the Covid-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, human rights and democratic governance,” she added.
Singapore’s foreign ministry has confirmed that Ms Pelosi and her accompanying delegation will visit the city state from August 1-2.
The President of the House of Representatives maintains the vagueness around a possible visit to Taiwan for security reasons.
For weeks, tensions between the United States and China have been rising over reports that it may visit the self-governing island, which China considers part of its territory.
Beijing would see a passage, even brief, of the speaker of the House of Representatives on the island as a provocation.
Washington has no diplomatic relations with Taipei and recognizes the communist regime in Beijing as the sole representative of China. But the United States sells arms to the island and praises its “democratic” regime.
Nancy Pelosi’s visit comes as military tension mounts in the region.
Taiwan’s military conducted its largest annual military exercises this week, which included mock interceptions of Chinese attacks from the sea.
Meanwhile, the US aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and its flotilla left Singapore for the South China Sea as part of a scheduled operation, the US Navy said.
And on Saturday, in response, China held a “live ammunition” military exercise in the Taiwan Strait.