- China once again warned House Speaker Nancy Pelosi against visiting Taiwan.
- The Chinese Ministry of Defense signaled there could be a military response.
China suggested Tuesday that there could be a military response if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi decides to visit Taiwan.
If Pelosi visits Taiwan, it would "seriously violate the one-China principle" and "seriously harm China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and seriously damage the political foundation of China-US relations," Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Defense, said.
Tan said Beijing urges the US to take "practical actions" to uphold its commitment to avoid supporting Taiwan's independence and "must not arrange for Pelosi to visit the Taiwan region."
"If the US insists on taking its own course, the Chinese military will never sit idly by, and it will definitely take strong actions to thwart any external force's interference," Tan added.
The House Speaker was set to visit Taiwan in April but cancelled the trip after testing positive for COVID-19. She is now tentatively planning to travel to Taiwan in August, which was first reported by the Financial Times.
Pelosi's potential trip to Taiwan has sparked a debate in Washington at a time when tensions between the US and China have running high. "The military thinks it's not a good idea right now," President Joe Biden told reporters last Wednesday.
Some Biden officials are worried that China might declare a no-fly zone over Taiwan in an effort to ground Pelosi's flight, which could drastically raise tensions in the region, CNN has reported.
Meanwhile, some Republicans — including close allies of former President Donald Trump — are championing the idea of Pelosi going to Taiwan, arguing that it is necessary to send a tough message to China.
Pelosi has not confirmed that she's traveling to Taiwan, telling reporters that she never discusses travel plans. But she also told reporters last Thursday that "it's important for us to show support for Taiwan," while underscoring that "none of us has ever said we're for independence when it comes to Taiwan." She added, "That's up to Taiwan to decide."
If she moves forward with the trip, Pelosi would be the highest-ranking US lawmaker to visit Taiwan in 25 years. China, which regards the self-ruled democratic island as a breakaway province, has expressed vehement opposition to the potential trip, signaling that it would view the visit as offering support to Taiwanese independence.
The US has not had formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan since 1979, when it established official ties with the Chinese government. That said, the US still maintains a robust relationship with Taiwan and is its top weapons supplier. Under the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, the US is compelled to provide Taiwan with defensive capabilities.
The US government's ongoing support for Taiwan remains a constant point of tension with Beijing. For years, Washington took an intentionally vague approach to the question of whether it would respond militarily if China attacked Taiwan — a policy known as "strategic ambiguity." But Biden has offered mixed messages on this front, which has added to the contentious dynamic with Beijing.
Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has also complicated matters. Many leading China watchers and foreign policy experts have warned that Beijing is closely watching what happens in the war in terms of how it might approach Taiwan moving forward. Along these lines, the Biden administration is seemingly looking to tread lightly on this issue so as to not exacerbate the already thorny state of relations between the US and China.