House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that the unofficial connection between the United States and Taiwan remained unaltered during her visit, but that the United States will not allow China to ‘isolate’ the island republic.
‘We will not allow China to isolate Taiwan,’ Pelosi declared at a press conference, backed by members of her congressional delegation. ‘They are not preventing us from traveling to Taiwan… That was our intention: to honor this functioning democracy.’ Pelosi defended the trip, which has sparked Chinese outrage as well as a series of threats and military drills: ‘Our goal in traveling to Taiwan was to demonstrate that we had a solid relationship based on the status quo, which we respect.’
‘They claim we’re out to cause trouble, but the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979… established the conditions of our relationship.’
‘There will be no deviation from that,’ she continued.
The Taiwan Relations Act established an unofficial diplomatic and economic conduit between the United States and Taiwan, launching the United States’ strategy of strategic ambiguity. It accepted China’s ‘One China concept,’ but did neither endorse or condemn it. The US has not openly said whether it would come to Taiwan’s rescue if China attacked, although it has strongly advised the PRC not to do so.
Pelosi also told reporters that she doesn’t’remember’ the military informing her she couldn’t travel to Taiwan. Biden told reporters ahead of the trip, ‘The military believes it’s not a good idea.’
‘We are extremely proud of our armed forces. Their preparedness, I believe, reduced the influence of the Chinese on our vacation. So they took excellent care of us,’ Pelosi said.
Pelosi refused to respond when asked whether Biden was being too careful about Taiwan.
‘We follow the president’s lead,’ Pelosi said of a robust Asia-Pacific agenda. ‘It was an incredible journey.’
The team led by Pelosi also visited Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea. The speaker confirmed that her son, Paul Pelosi Jr., will accompany her on the trip. ‘His function was to act as my escort,’ she said. When asked whether he had any “business interactions” during the trip, the speaker said, “No, he did not.” He didn’t, of course.’
Paul is on the boards of St. George’s Eco-Mining and Altair International Corp., both lithium mining firms. Asian countries create over 75% of the world’s lithium batteries.
The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., estimated 250,000 people waited to meet the American politicians when they arrived in Taipei.
‘They want to know we’re there, and they want to see our soft power,’ he said.
The New York Democrat condemned China explicitly for the provocations.
‘It’s not we who want to overturn the existing quo, as you can see from Beijing.’
Another participant on the tour said that China’s threats will not govern the United States.
“If the cost of avoiding these sorts of aggressive steps is ceding control of Taiwan to the People’s Republic of China, or ceding control of our congressional travel itineraries to the People’s Republic of China, that is not a price we are willing to pay,” Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi stated (D-Ill.).
Meanwhile, in reaction to increased Chinese military exercises after Pelosi’s visit, the Biden administration has pledged to continue sailing warships through the Taiwan Strait and conducting air operations in the area, according to a New York Times article.
Officials in the United States and Taiwan are concerned that China would exploit the trip to coerce Taiwan for months or years to come. They are concerned that it would hasten the schedule for a full-scale Chinese invasion and takeover, similar to how China took over Hong Kong.
China concluded a week-long set of live-fire exercises outside Taiwan on Tuesday, but indicated that regular patrols of the two nations’ disputed waterways will continue. Taiwanese authorities believe China launched 17 fighter planes beyond the Taiwan Strait’s middle line. For decades, both sides have realized that crossing the median line would result in major escalation.
Taiwan, however, began its own anti-invasion maneuvers this week.
‘In the face of China’s military intimidation, Taiwan will not be scared or back down, but will defend its sovereignty, national security, and free and democratic way of life even more forcefully,’ Taiwan’s foreign ministry said in a statement Wednesday,
according to Reuters.