- The Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, arrived in Malaysia on Tuesday as part of her Asia trip.
- It is still unclear whether the politician will also travel to Taiwan despite warnings from China.
- There has been speculation in recent days that the third-highest ranking American is unlikely to travel to Taiwan.
The 82-year-old landed in the morning (local time) at Subang Air Force Base near the capital Kuala Lumpur, as reported by the state news agency Bernama. Among other things, she wants to meet Malaysia’s Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yakoob later in the day.
Legend:
Nancy Pelosi met Speaker of the Malaysian Parliament Azhar Azizan Harun at the Malaysian Parliament building in Kuala Lumpur.
Reuters
It is still unclear whether the politician will also travel to Taiwan despite warnings from China. Beijing had threatened the United States with consequences in this case. “Those who play with fire will perish,” Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned US President Joe Biden in a phone call last Thursday.
From the point of view of the Chinese leadership, Taiwan is part of the People’s Republic, although it was already governed independently before it was founded in 1949. That is why Beijing firmly rejects official contacts from other countries to the government in Taipei, referring to its “One China Doctrine”.
Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan would be historic
A visit by the third-highest ranking American would be the highest-ranking US visit to Taipei in decades. A Taiwanese MP previously confirmed press reports to the German Press Agency that Pelosi may arrive in Taipei from Malaysia on Tuesday evening local time.
Democratic Taiwan is not on the official itinerary, which includes Singapore and Malaysia, South Korea and Japan. But Beijing fears that Pelosi could ignore Chinese warnings. The US Democrat has long planned to visit Taiwan to take a stand against the threats from China.