The U.S. military does not believe House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) visiting Taiwan this summer is a good idea, President Biden said Wednesday.
Reports circulated this week about how the California Democrat planned to make a Taiwan visit during her tour of Asia next month, but her office has declined to comment on her travel arrangements.
“We do not confirm or deny international travel in advance due to long-standing security protocols,” her office told The Washington Post.
Biden was asked about the possibility of Pelosi’s trip on Wednesday as he got off Air Force One.
“The military thinks it’s not a good idea right now,” he said, adding that he wasn’t sure “what the status of it is.”
His comments come after China’s Foreign Ministry blasted the proposed travel to Taiwan.
“If the United States insists on going ahead, China will have to take firm and forceful measures to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Tuesday, adding that a trip there would cause “grave harm” and “seriously impact the political foundations of China-U.S. relations.”
The potential trip comes as concern mounts over China invading Taiwan over Beijing's longstanding belief that "reunification" with the island "must be fulfilled."
The U.S. has stuck to its One China Policy, keeping formal ties only with the government in Beijing, though it still has a "robust unofficial relationship" with Taiwan, according to the State Department.
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