House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Nancy Pelosi is visiting Taiwan as part of her Asia tour, CNN and Taiwanese media reported.
China has threatened military action if she visits. China doesn’t recognize Taiwan as a country.
Pelosi appeared to avoid talking about any trip while meeting officials in Singapore on Monday.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will go ahead with visiting Taiwan during her Asia tour despite China’s threats to take military action if she does, reports say.
Tingting Liu of the Taiwanese news channel TVBS reported on Monday that Pelosi would be arriving in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, landing Tuesday night local time.
CNN also reported the plans, citing a Taiwanese official and a US official, but said that an arrival time was not clear. The network reported that the Taiwanese official said she was expected to stay overnight.
Pelosi arrived in Singapore, the first leg of her Asia trip, on Monday morning local time and met with leaders there. She has appeared to avoid talking about Taiwan so far.
According to the Singapore foreign ministry, Pelosi and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong “exchanged views on key international and regional developments, including the war in Ukraine, cross-strait relations, and climate change.”
The ministry said Lee “highlighted the importance of stable US-China relations for regional peace and security,” an apparent reference to the heightened tensions between US and China over the prospect of a Taiwan visit.
Singaporean President Halimah Yacob also said that she and Pelosi discussed US-Singapore ties and education, climate change, and opportunities for women.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Singaporean President Halimah Yacob in Singapore on August 1, 2022, the first day of Pelosi’s Asia tour.
Ministry of Communications and Information, Singapore
After the Financial Times reported last month that Pelosi would visit Taiwan in August, China has repeatedly warned her not to. It said on Monday that its military would not “sit idly by” if she visited.
Representatives for Pelosi have have repeatedly refused to talk about plans to visit Taiwan.
Her Sunday statement on her Asia trip made no mention of Taiwan or China. It listed other destinations like Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, and Japan.
Beijing has long claimed that Taiwan is part of China, though the island has been self-ruling for decades.
China has a long-running campaign to discourage other countries from giving diplomatic recognition to Taiwan, and has in recent months stepped up its military action in the region.
Military analysts believe China may eventually invade to take the island by force.
US policy toward Taiwan is “strategic ambiguity,” meaning it doesn’t recognize Taiwan’s independence but provides it with military support meant to fend off attack by China.
President Joe Biden said last month that US military officials believed that a Pelosi Taiwan trip is “not a good idea.”
US officials told the Associated Press last week that the Department of Defense was prepared to send fighter jets and warships to protect Pelosi during her Asia trip. CNN’s Monday report also cited a US official as saying that Pentagon officials were trying to keep her safe and monitoring Chinese movements in the area.
Bloomberg reported last week that the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan had entered the South China Sea.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment. A spokesperson told Insider last week that it “wouldn’t be appropriate” to comment on congressional travel plans.