Nancy Pelosi Arrives in Taiwan Amid Threats of China’s Retaliation [VIDEO]

[ODUNEWS] August 2 – US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taipei on Tuesday night (Aug 2) in defiance of threats from China, becoming the highest-ranking US politician to visit the island in 25 years.

In a statement released by her office shortly after her touchdown, Mrs. Pelosi said the visit honors the United States’ unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan’s democracy, and “in no way contradicts longstanding US policy”.

 

China, which had already warned Mrs. Pelosi against making the trip and said the US would “pay the price” for the visit, has sent fighter jets across the Taiwan Strait, its state media reported.

Beijing, which regards Taiwan as a renegade province that will be retaken by force if necessary, views Mrs. Pelosi’s visit as sending an encouraging signal to the pro-independence camp on the self-ruling island. It has not ruled out a military response.

 

Citing an unnamed source, Reuters reported that hours before the top US official’s arrival in Taiwan, Chinese planes and warships came very close to the median line in the Taiwan Strait that separates China and the island, with Chinese aircraft briefly “touching” the median line in a “very provocative” act.

The US Navy has also reportedly deployed four warships in waters east of Taiwan in what it called “routine” deployments.

Meanwhile, Taiwan’s presidential office claimed that it was hit by a barrage of cyberattacks in the evening.

Warning that China will take “firm and powerful” measures in response to Mrs. Pelosi’s trip, foreign ministry spokesman Hua Chunying told a regular press briefing on Tuesday afternoon: “What I can tell you is, the US will definitely have to bear responsibility and pay the price for harming China’s sovereignty and security interests.”

“If the US misjudges or handles the situation across the Taiwan Strait incorrectly, it will have catastrophic consequences for the security, prosperity, and order of the Taiwan region and the world at large.”

Mrs. Pelosi arrived at Taipei’s Songshan Airport on Tuesday night, after her US airforce SPAR19 flight left the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur and took a longer route, flying south-east towards Borneo before circling up north towards the direction of Taiwan, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24.

It appeared to be avoiding flying over the South China Sea where the Chinese army has held various exercises, including live fire drills, since last week.

Ordinarily, a flight between Kuala Lumpur and Taipei takes about five hours. The detour added about two more hours.

 

Mrs. Pelosi was in Kuala Lumpur as part of an Asian tour that had also taken her to Singapore.

Media reports said Mrs. Pelosi would visit Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan, or the Parliament, and meet President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday, which was not officially on her agenda.

“Our discussions with Taiwan leadership will focus on reaffirming our support for our partner and on promoting our shared interests, including advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific region. America’s solidarity with the 23 million people of Taiwan is more important today than ever, as the world faces a choice between autocracy and democracy,” Mrs. Pelosi said in her statement.

She added that her visit is one of several Congressional delegations to Taiwan and that the US “continues to oppose unilateral efforts to change the status quo“.