Military brass has expressed concern with speculation that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is planning to visit Taiwan this summer amid heightened tensions between the United States and China, according to President Joe Biden.
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“I think that the military thinks it’s not a good idea right now. But I don’t know what the status of it is,” the president told reporters Wednesday.
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“I think I’ll be talking to President Xi within the next 10 days,” Biden added after deplaning from Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
Biden made the comments on his return from Massachusetts, where he outlined the first in a series of expected executive actions regarding climate change. While describing climate as “a clear and present danger,” he has so far declined to declare it a national emergency.
“I’m running the traps on the totality of the authority that I have,” he said. “We’ll make that decision soon.”
China has threatened “strong and resolute measures” if Pelosi does travel to Taiwan next month, with Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian complaining that the move “seriously” violates its “One China” policy. If she does join the congressional delegation, she will be the highest-ranking government official to step on the self-governing island’s soil since former Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1997.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters en route to Massachusetts that she understood the trip “has not been locked in.”
“We refer you to her office for anything further,” she said. “The United States remains committed to our One China policy, which is set forth in the Taiwan Relations Act, the Three Joint Communiques, and Six Assurances.”
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“This has been a consistent U.S. position for decades across multiple administrations,” Jean-Pierre went on. “U.S. support for Taiwan remains rock solid, principled, bipartisan, and it is in line with our, again, One China Policy and long-standing U.S. commitments.”
