CNN: Biden administration officials are concerned that mainland China is interfering with airspace to prevent Pelosi from visiting Taiwan

CNN reported that the U.S. government is concerned that the Chinese mainland intends to declare a no-fly zone over Taiwan in order to sabotage House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August, an official said. Tension intensified. The official also said that mainland China may also send fighter jets to further intrude Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, potentially triggering a reaction from Taiwan and the United States, without elaborating on what that might be.

U.S. President Joe Biden, who tested positive for COVID-19 while experiencing mild symptoms, sits at his desk in the White House residence in this handout photo obtained from President Biden's Twitter account on July 21, 2022. Courtesy Twitter President Biden@POTUS/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. THIS IMAGE WAS PROCESSED BY REUTERS TO ENHANCE QUALITY, AN UNPROCESSED VERSION HAS BEEN PROVIDED SEPARATELY. — CNN: Biden administration officials are concerned that mainland China is interfering with airspace and preventing Pelosi from visiting Taiwan. REUTERS TO ENHANCE QUALITY, AN UNPROCESSED VERSION HAS BEEN PROVIDED SEPARATELY.

In recent months, Chinese fighter jets have frequently intruded into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone, which, while not violating international law, often led Taiwan to take preventive defense measures, including scrambles. Chinese fighter jets did not enter Taiwan’s airspace, that is, within 12 nautical miles of the coastline.

CNN, citing three people familiar with the matter, reported that Nancy Pelosi planned to visit Taiwan in the next few weeks.

This year, other U.S. congressmen and former officials will visit Taiwan one after another, but if Pelosi can make the trip, it will be the highest-ranking U.S. congressman to visit Taiwan in 25 years. In 1997, the then Speaker of the House of Representatives and Republican Newt Gingrich also visited Taiwan.

The Financial Times first reported that Pelosi was planning to visit Taiwan in August. Pelosi said she never talked about her travel plans for security reasons, but said it was important to show support for Taiwan. President Biden said the military doesn’t think it’s a good idea at the moment.

Dave Butler, a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the military had “roughly” briefed policymakers on the military assessment. “We talked about possible actions by the adversary, we discussed logistics and military planning and preparation,” he said. He would not say whether Joint Conference Chairman Mark Milley had spoken to Pelosi about the possible visit to Taiwan. journey.

Pelosi said she “heard” Biden’s thoughts on the trip, but Biden did not express his opinion directly to her. “I think the president meant that the military might be concerned about my plane being shot down or something. I don’t know,” she said.

State Department officials also had some concerns, two of the sources said. But State Department spokesman Ned Price avoided answering questions about the trip on Tuesday, saying only that it was “hypothetical” for now.

Price reiterated that the Biden administration still adheres to the one-China policy, adding that although the United States and Taiwan do not have formal diplomatic relations, the two sides have established a “solid unofficial relationship.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian responded a few days ago, asking the U.S. side not to arrange for Pelosi to visit Taiwan, stop official exchanges between the United States and Taiwan, and stop creating tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U.S. told CNN that Taiwan “has not received any information on the planned visit of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.”