Sébastien Le Belzic with AFP
modified to
08:05, August 02, 2022
Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, arrived in Malaysia on Tuesday, the second leg of an Asian tour that risks escalating tensions between China and the United States due to a visit to Taiwan not- confirmed but increasingly likely.
The Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives arrived in Singapore on Monday with a delegation of American elected officials for a four-day Asian tour. Then, she landed in Malaysia, and should go to South Korea and Japan. His stopover in Taiwan has not been officially confirmed, but Nancy Pelosi had warned that she would not give details of her itinerary for security reasons.
“The People’s Liberation Army will not stand idly by”
Increasingly likely his visit to Taiwan threatens to trigger a major diplomatic crisis between China and the United States. Communist China indeed claims sovereignty over this island and speaks of provocation. Also on Monday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman warned Washington: “We would like to again warn the United States that China is fully prepared for any eventuality. All is well. The People’s Liberation Army will not sit idly by.”
Jinping threatens Biden
Proof of its determination, China has conducted live ammunition military exercises in recent days less than 200 kilometers from the Taiwanese coast and even threatens to send its fighters to block Nancy Pelosi’s plane. Xi Jinping threatened Joe Biden in a phone interview last Thursday. “Who plays with fire can die by fire”, had launched, prophetically, the Chinese president.