The US military is making plans in the Indo-Pacific in case Nancy Pelosi travels to Taiwan

Name: China condemns Taiwan visit by EU delegation and travel plans by US House Speaker Pelosi
Uploaded: 2022-07-27T07:37:54.000Z
Duration: 2 min 48 s
Description: China condemns Taiwan visit by EU delegation and travel plans by US House Speaker Pelosi

If the US House speaker did go ahead with Taiwan visit she would be entering region where a mishap, misstep or misunderstanding could put her in danger

Recent incidents involving the PLA include dangerously close fly-bys with aircraft from other nations, harassment and obstruction of air and ship crews

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A possible trip by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan may well loom over a call planned between US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week. Photo: AP

Associated Press

Published: 3:37pm, 27 Jul 2022Updated: 4:39pm, 27 Jul 2022

US officials say they have little fear that Beijing would attack Nancy Pelosi’s plane if she flies to Taiwan. But the US House speaker would be entering one of the world’s hottest spots where a mishap, misstep or misunderstanding could endanger her safety. So the Pentagon is developing plans for any contingency.

Officials told Associated Press that if Pelosi went to Taiwan – still an uncertainty – the military would increase its movement of forces and assets in the Indo-Pacific region. They declined to provide details, but said that fighter jets, ships, surveillance assets and other military systems would likely be used to provide overlapping rings of protection for her flight to Taiwan and any time on the ground there.

Any foreign travel by a senior US leader requires additional security. But officials said this week that a visit to Taiwan by Pelosi – who would be the highest-ranking US elected official to visit the island since 1997 – would go beyond the usual safety precautions for trips to less risky destinations.

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China condemns Taiwan visit by EU delegation and travel plans by US House Speaker Pelosi

Asked about planned military steps to protect Pelosi in the event of a visit, US General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Wednesday that discussion of any specific travel was premature. But, he added, “if there’s a decision made that Speaker Pelosi or anyone else is going to travel and they asked for military support, we will do what is necessary to ensure a safe conduct of their visit. And I’ll just leave it at that”.

Beijing considers self-ruled Taiwan its own territory and has raised the prospect of annexing it by force. The US maintains informal relations and defence ties with Taiwan, even as it recognises Beijing as the government of China.

The trip is being considered at a time when China has escalated what the US and its allies in the Pacific describe as risky one-on-one confrontations with other militaries to assert its sweeping territorial claims. The incidents have included dangerously close fly-bys that force other pilots to swerve to avoid collisions, or harassment or obstruction of air and ship crews, including with blinding lasers or water cannons.

Dozens of such manoeuvres had occurred this year alone, Ely Ratner, US assistant defence secretary, said on Tuesday at a South China Sea forum by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. China denies the incidents.