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Following weeks of public speculation, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday night, confirming previous reports that the California Democrat would be traveling to the East Asian nation with several members of Congress.
Upon arriving in the capital city of Taipei, Pelosi’s office released a statement on the trip, with the House Speaker saying that it “honors America’s unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan’s vibrant Democracy.”
“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,” Pelosi said in the press release. “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.”
The trip by Pelosi marks the first time a U.S. House Speaker has visited the island in 25 years, with Republican Newt Gingrich having been the last to travel to Taiwan in 1997.
The Chinese government, which claims Taiwan as Chinese territory, expressed outrage at Pelosi’s visit and has since proclaimed a series of actions the country plans to take in response. In addition to deploying more than 20 military aircraft into Taiwan’s airspace on Wednesday, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials announced via state-run media that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) plans to conduct live-fire military drills in the waters surrounding Taiwan in the coming days, with details of “additional important drills” to be released in the near future.
“[People’s Republic of China] announcing air-naval live-fire drills around Taiwan is self-evidently apparent that they seek a cross-strait resolution by force instead of peaceful means,” Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said in a statement. “Activities around our territory are closely monitored by #ROCMND and, will meet our appropriate responses when needed.”
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen also issued remarks on the matter during a Wednesday event with Pelosi, saying Taiwan “will not back down” and will “continue to hold the line of defence for democracy” in the face of “heightened military threats” from China.
