White House May Have Leaked Message to Block Pelosi's Taiwan Visit
By Kuo Chong-lun
United Daily News, July 22, 2022
When asked about his views on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s planned visit to Taiwan, President Joe Biden of the United States responded that the military thinks it’s not a good idea now, but he does not know what the current situation is. As president, Mr. Biden’s statement on this matter is worthy of attention and may lead to the second cancellation of Pelosi’s visit.
To begin, the White House does not approve Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. Financial Times exclusively reported on July 19 that the White House is “concerned” about this matter, in other words, opposed to her trip to Taiwan. Based on media manipulations in the past, it is likely that the information was leaked by the White House National Security Council in order to sabotage the plan to visit.
The White House is particularly concerned about the timing of the visit, which is too close to the third video call between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping. At the same time that Biden was asked about Pelosi’s trip, he also revealed that he is expecting to talk with Xi within the next ten days, which shows that Biden considers the significance of these two events collectively.
Biden Can’t Bluntly Oppose Pelosi’s Trip
Although the U.S. executive and legislative branches are independent, Beijing does not see it that way. Since Pelosi and Biden are both Democrats, China is convinced that the executive branch and legislative branch are respectively being friendly and aggressive at the same time in order to put pressure on China.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military is trying to avoid any accidents with the Chinese military on all sides. CNN reported that Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, ordered a comprehensive review of U.S.-China military interactions over the past five years. Particularly the Chinese aircrafts and ships that are operating too close to U.S. military assets are considered “unsafe” or “unprofessional” situations.
Milley Ordered Review of U.S. Ship Operations
Milley’s order is not just to counter investigation attempts by China, but also to review whether U.S. aircrafts and ships are too close to the coast of the mainland for “proximity investigation” resulting in similar “unsafe” situations, as accused by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Indeed, the U.S. military has been following the instructions of the White House with a goal to build guardrails between the two armies in order to avoid misfires.
According to news reports, Milley had asked insiders to conduct a preliminary review before a video call on July 7 with Li Zuocheng, China’s chief of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin of the United States also held talks with his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe during the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore last month. In both dialogues, the situation across the Taiwan Strait was discussed, and the United States repeatedly emphasized assuming responsibility and competition control.
This time, China reacted fiercely to Pelosi’s planned trip to Taiwan. Spokesman Zhao Lijian of the mainland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressed in very strong terms, “If the United States insists on going its own way, China will take resolute and forceful measures to firmly defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity. The United States must be fully responsible for all the consequences caused by this.”
U.S. Military Not Happy Should China Play Hardball
It is still unknown what the so-called consequences are, but Pelosi’s scheduled visit to Taiwan coincides with the anniversary of the founding of the PLA on August 1. Hu Xijin, considered to be the semi-official voice of the mainland Chinese authorities suggested: “The PLA fighter jets can choose to ‘accompany’ Pelosi’s plane at an appropriate distance, enter the airspace of Taiwan at the same time, fly over the landing airport and then across Taiwan back into the mainland. This proposition has little chance of a direct military conflict, but if the PLA fighter does fly into and across the Taiwan Island, it would be an even more significant unprecedented landmark than Pelosi’s visit.”
If the PLA does such reckless move, regardless of whether Taiwan fighter jets will defend its airspace and engage in conflict, the U.S. military planes will surely be dispatched from Okinawa and Guan bases to escort Pelosi’s aircraft. By that time, the possibility of misfires in the airspace over Taiwan Strait will have greatly increased, which is not what the U.S. military wishes to see.
As a matter of fact, this is not the first time that Pelosi wants to visit Taiwan. When news of a Taiwan trip came out in April, the mainland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi said that the United States is crossing the redline since the visit is a blatant violation of the “One China” policy and a malicious provocation of China’s sovereignty. Later that day, Pelosi’s spokesperson said that she had tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19), and her visit was to be postponed.
Hardliners on China Support Pelosi’s Trip to Taiwan
At the time, observers speculate that Pelosi's testing positive was a political maneuver under the joint opposition of Beijing and the White House. However, due to a previous hinderance, American hardliners believe that the trip cannot be canceled this time, otherwise the world will have an impression of the United States showing weakness to China. So far, Pelosi’s office has not confirmed whether Taiwan will be a stop for her visit. Before Pelosi’s departure, anything can happen.