Nancy Pelosi confirms she’s heading to Asia without mentioning Taiwan

US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi confirmed on Sunday that she is heading to Asia, without mentioning a possible stopover in Taiwan that could further sour relations between China and the United States.

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“I am leading the congressional delegation to the Indo-Pacific region, reaffirming America’s unwavering commitment to its allies and friends in the region,” Pelosi said in a statement.

“In Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan, we will hold high-level meetings to discuss how we can promote our common values ​​and interests, including peace and security, economic growth and trade. , covid-19 pandemic, climate. Crisis, human rights and democratic governance,” she added.

Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that Ms Pelosi and her accompanying delegation will visit the city-state between August 1-2.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives has been vague about a visit to Taiwan due to security concerns.

For weeks, tensions have been rising between the United States and China over a possible visit to the self-governing island, which China considers part of its territory.

The House of Representatives on the island of Beijing sees a part of the Speaker as provocative.

Washington has no diplomatic ties with Taipei and recognizes the Communist regime in Beijing as China’s sole representative. But the United States sells arms to the island and praises its “democratic” regime.

Nancy Pelosi’s visit raises military tensions in the region.

Taiwan’s military held its biggest annual military exercises this week, including mock interceptions of Chinese attacks from the sea.

Meanwhile, the US Navy said the US aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and its flotilla departed Singapore for the South China Sea as part of a scheduled operation.

And on Saturday, in response, China conducted a “live fire” military exercise in the Taiwan Strait.