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COMING TO TAIWAN?
A US aircraft carrier and its strike group are back in the South China Sea as tensions with China rise over a possible visit by House Speaker
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By Kaylee Majar / staff writer, with Reuters and CNA
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has invited other top lawmakers to join her on a visit to Taiwan, a US representative told NBC News on Wednesday, in the first official confirmation of the speaker’s planned visit.
US Congressman Michael McCaul said in an interview with the US News Bulletin that he and his colleague Gregory Meeks had been invited to join Pelosi on a visit to Taiwan next month.
McCaul, a Republican, is the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee along with Meeks, the Democratic chairman.
Photo: Bloomberg
Although he declined the offer due to personal obligation, McCall encouraged others to go.
“Any member who wants to go should. It shows political deterrence” to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), McCall said. “But [Pelosi] they should also pay attention to the military if they are going to backfire and escalate things.”
U.S. Congresswoman Anna Eshu, a Democrat close to Pelosi, also told NBC News on Wednesday that she received an invitation but had to decline.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The comments were the first recorded confirmation of the plans, first reported by the Financial Times on Monday last week.
Pelosi’s office and the White House declined to confirm the trip.
Although no specific dates were provided, Japan’s Kyodo News yesterday cited foreign affairs sources as saying the trip would take place early next month.
During the brief interview on Capitol Hill, McCaul also called on Washington to reconsider its policy of “strategic ambiguity” toward Taiwan.
“I think it’s gotten to the point where China is such a threat to Taiwan that we have to reconsider that policy,” he said. “I don’t think it should be ambiguous anymore. I think China should understand that our policy should be defended and not ambiguous about it.
On Wednesday, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) thanked Pelosi for her longtime support and friendship and extended an invitation to “all friendly foreign guests” who wish to visit.
The government will take precautions for visitors regarding their plans, he added.
In related news, a US aircraft carrier and its strike group returned to the South China Sea after a port visit to Singapore, deploying to the disputed region as tensions with China rise over a possible visit by Pelosi to Taiwan.
Officials with the US Navy’s 7th Fleet confirmed the USS Ronald Reagan’s deployment to the vital trade route, but did not comment on questions about tensions surrounding Pelosi’s trip.
“The USS Ronald Reagan and her strike group are underway, operating in the South China Sea after a successful port visit to Singapore,” U.S. Commander Haley Sims said in a statement.
Sims added that the Reagan “continues normal, scheduled operations as part of her routine patrol in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
Asked for comment, China’s Foreign Ministry said yesterday that the US was once again “showing muscle” in the South China Sea with the Reagan sailing.
“This makes it clear for everyone to see who is the biggest threat to the South China Sea and peace and stability in the Asian region,” ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian (趙立堅) told a regular briefing.
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