Biden Reportedly Told Senior Officials to Brief Pelosi on Taiwan Visit Risks But She ‘Pressed Ahead’

On Monday, US National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is currently on an Asian tour, has the right to visit Taiwan but that she has not yet confirmed any travel plans.

US President Joe Biden tasked senior officials, including National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, with presenting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with an outline of risks related to her visiting Taiwan, but she had decided to press ahead with “the landmark trip”, according to The Financial Times.

The newspaper quoted unnamed sources as saying that Pelosi ostensibly plans to meet Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday, as part of her ongoing Asian tour that kicked off in Singapore on Sunday.

The claims followed the Taiwanese news portal ETtoday reporting on Monday that the House speaker is expected to arrive in Taiwan on Tuesday night, hold a meeting with Tsai on Wednesday and leave the island around noon on the same day. The Taiwanese Foreign Ministry has not commented on the report yet.

In a separate development on Monday, US National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby told reporters that President Joe Biden did not directly speak with Pelosi about her plans to visit Taiwan, but that her potential trip there has been discussed in the national security circles.

Kirby noted that Pelosi has not yet confirmed any travel plans, adding that she “has the right to visit Taiwan and the speaker of the House has visited Taiwan before without incident, as have many members of Congress, including this year.”

The US national security council coordinator also pointed out that Washington will not engage in saber rattling or be intimidated by Beijing following the announcement of the House speaker’s potential visit to Taiwan.

“We will keep operating in the seas and the skies of the Western Pacific as we have for decades. We're also committed to keeping open lines of communication with Beijing,” he emphasized.

Kirby warned of “potential steps from China” in the coming days, which he said “could include military provocations, such as firing missiles in the Taiwan Strait or around Taiwan, operations that break historical norms such as large-scale air entry into Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone, […] air or naval activities that crossed the median line and military exercises.”

The remarks came as Chinese Ambassador to the UN Zhang Jun said at a press briefing on Monday that China has repeatedly made its position on Pelosi’s possible visit to Taiwan “very clear”, and that Beijing has “repeatedly expressed” its “serious concerns and firm opposition to such a visit.”

“As we see it, a visit from the White House or from Pelosi, such a visit is apparently very much dangerous, very much provocative. If the US insists on making the visit, China will take firm and strong measures to safeguard our national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Zhang stressed.

The envoy added that Pelosi’s potential visit to Taiwan “would undermine regional peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait” as well as relations between Washington and Beijing.

Simmering Chinese-US tensions over Taiwan, seen by Beijing as an essential part of the mainland China, spiked dramatically during President Joe Biden's tenure following POTUS’ repeated promises to come to the island’s defense if it were “invaded” by China.

Late last year, Taiwan's Defense Ministry revealed that over 600 US military personnel have visited the island since 2019, in contravention of the One-China policy.

On top of that, the US has repeatedly sent its warships to the Taiwan Strait, with Beijing dubbing such missions provocations and slamming Washington as the "destroyer of peace and stability" and "a security risk creator” in the region.