(CNN) US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to visit Taiwan as part of her tour of Asia, according to senior Taiwanese government officials and US officials, despite warnings from Biden administration officials, who are worried about China’s response to the high level. -visit profile.
The stop – the first for the US House speaker in 25 years – is currently not on Pelosi’s public itinerary and comes at a time when US-China relations are already at a low point.
Taiwanese officials added that he is expected to stay in Taiwan overnight. It is unclear when exactly Pelosi will land in Taipei.
The US official added that Defense Department officials are working around the clock to monitor China’s movements in the region and secure plans to keep him safe.
In a foreign ministry briefing Monday, China warned against the “severe political impact” of Pelosi’s planned visit to the self-governing island that China claims as part of its territory and reiterated that its military “will not sit back” if. Beijing feels its “sovereignty and territorial integrity” are under threat.
“We want to tell the US once again that China is standing up, and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army will never sit still. China will take a firm response and strong action to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian. told reporters, when asked about the fallout from Pelosi leading the congressional delegation to Taipei.
“As for what size, if he dares to go, then wait and see,” Zhao added.
Although China’s military did not mention Taiwan, the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command said it would “bury the incoming enemy” in a video posted online Monday showing its weapons and fighting tactics. “Stand firm and ready for battle orders; Bury all incoming enemies,” said a message posted on Weibo.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated the administration’s line that it was Pelosi’s decision whether she visited, adding, “we don’t know what Speaker Pelosi meant.”
“Congress is an independent and equal branch of government,” Blinken said at the United Nations on Monday afternoon. “The decision is entirely Speaker’s”.
Blinken said such visits have precedent, noting past speakers and members of Congress have visited Taiwan.
“And if the speaker decides to visit and China tries to create some kind of crisis or if it doesn’t increase the tension, it will be in Beijing,” said Blinken. “We are looking for them, if he decides to visit, to act responsibly and not get involved in the escalation that will go forward.”
National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby said earlier Monday that the Biden administration would support Pelosi on her trip to Taiwan.
“We want to make sure that when he goes abroad, he can do it safely and securely and we will make sure of that. There is no reason for China’s rhetoric. There is no reason for any action to be taken. It is not uncommon for congressional leaders to go to Taiwan ,” Kirby told CNN’s Brianna Keilar on “New Day.
“We should not be as a country – we should not be intimidated by the rhetoric or those potential actions. This is an important journey for the speaker will be on and we are going to do what we can to support him.” continued Kirby.
Asked if the US was prepared for the fallout with China through the visit, Kirby said that “there is no change in our policy. There is no change in our focus on trying to remain free and safe and open the Indo-Pacific.”
The issue of Taiwan remains one of the most controversial. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping discussed it at length in a two-hour and 17-minute phone call on Thursday, as tensions rose between Washington and Beijing.
“The Taiwan issue is the most sensitive, important core issue in China-US relations,” China’s Ambassador told the US’s Geng Qin at the Aspen Security Forum in July.
While Biden has said publicly that the U.S. military does not believe it is a good time for Pelosi to visit Taiwan, he has stopped short of directly telling her not to go, according to two sources.
Administration officials have worked in recent weeks to inform House speakers of the risks of visiting the democratic, self-governing island of 24 million people, including in briefings from the Pentagon and other administration officials. But Biden doesn’t believe it’s his place to say he shouldn’t go, and he has avoided commenting publicly on his trip since his initial statement on July 21.
Biden said last month that the US military opposed Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, though he has since declined to elaborate on the warning. The White House has said it is up to the House speaker where he travels.
Still, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recently said he plans to discuss a visit to Asia with Pelosi.
The administration is more concerned about Pelosi’s security when she travels abroad because she is in the line of presidential succession.
Administration officials are concerned Pelosi’s trip comes at a tense time, as Xi is expected to seek an unprecedented third term at the upcoming Chinese Communist Party congress. Chinese party officials are expected to begin laying the groundwork for the conference in the coming weeks, putting pressure on the leadership in Beijing to show strength.
Officials also believe that China’s leadership does not fully understand the political dynamics in the United States, leading to misunderstandings about the importance of Pelosi’s potential visit. Officials said China may have confused Pelosi’s visit with an official administration visit, as she and Biden are both Democrats. Administration officials are concerned that China is not separating Pelosi and Biden, if at all.
Pelosi has long been a critic of the Chinese Communist Party. He has met with pro-democracy dissidents and the Dalai Lama – the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader who remains a thorn in the Chinese government’s side. In 1991, Pelosi unfurled a black-and-white banner in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square to commemorate the victims of the 1989 massacre, which said, “To those who died for democracy.” In recent years, he has voiced his support for pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
The Chinese embassy in the United States has denied the expected trip, which was planned for April before Pelosi tested positive for Covid-19, urging members of Congress to tell the speaker not to do so.
“I would say there is a full-court press from the Chinese Embassy to discourage travel to Taiwan,” Washington Democratic Rep. Rick Larsen, co-chair of the US-China congressional working group, told CNN. “I just don’t think it’s their business to tell us what we should do. That’s my message back.”
Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in the US, responded that his office was in “regular contact” with members of Congress, including Larsen.
“On the Taiwan question, we have made our stand loud and clear,” Pengyu said. “The embassy has made every effort to prevent peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the stability of China-US relations from being damaged by the potential visit of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.”
“We hope serious consequences can be avoided,” he added. “This is in the common interest of both China and the US.”
Many Democrats and Republicans in Congress said it was Pelosi’s right to go to Taiwan.
“It’s Speaker Pelosi’s own decision whether or not to go to Taiwan, not any other country,” said Illinois Republican Darin LaHood, Larsen’s Republican partner on the US-China working group. “In our democratic system – we operate with separate but equal branches of government.”
“It is inappropriate for foreign governments, including the Chinese government, to attempt to influence the ability or right to travel for speakers, members of Congress, or other US government officials to Taiwan or anywhere else in the world,” he added.
Other members appeared to be more cautious about the diplomatically sensitive trip.
California Democratic Representative Judy Chu, the first Chinese American woman elected to Congress, said she has “always supported Taiwan.”
But when asked whether Taiwan’s current trip would send the wrong message, Chu said, “You can look at it both ways. It should also show strength and support.”
When asked what he thought, he said, “I leave it up to whoever is going to make that decision.”
This story was updated with additional details Monday.
CNN’s Jennifer Hansler, Nectar Gan, Yong Xiong, Hannah Ritchie, Chandelis Duster and Betsy Klein contributed to this report.
