After having long maintained the vagueness around her program in Asia, Ms. Pelosi announced on Sunday leading “a congressional delegation to the Indo-Pacific region to reaffirm America’s unwavering commitment to its allies and friends in the region”.
“In Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan, we will hold high-level meetings to discuss how we can promote our common values and interests, including peace and security, economic growth and development. trade, the Covid-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, human rights and democratic governance," she added, without mentioning Taiwan in her itinerary.
A motorcade probably carrying the senior official was seen by AFP journalists in Singapore, where she is to meet the Prime Minister and the President.
For weeks, tensions between the United States and China have been rising over reports that it may visit the self-governing island, which China considers part of its territory.
Beijing would see a passage, even brief, of the speaker of the House of Representatives on the island as a provocation.
Delegations of US officials travel to Taiwan frequently to express their support, but a visit by Ms Pelosi, one of the most senior figures in the state and one of the heavyweights in American political life, would be unprecedented since that of her predecessor. Newt Gingrich in 1997.
- Military tension -
The United States practices with regard to Taiwan a so-called "strategic ambiguity" diplomacy, consisting in recognizing only one Chinese government, that of Beijing, while continuing to provide decisive support to Taipei but in refraining from saying whether or not they would defend the island militarily in the event of an invasion.
It is this concept that has so far made it possible to maintain a certain stability in the region.
A visit to Taiwan by Ms. Pelosi, a central figure in President Joe Biden's Democratic majority, would singularly complicate the task of American diplomacy, which is trying not to poison relations with China.
It would also come as military tension mounts in the region.
Last week, during a rare direct exchange with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, US President Joe Biden assured that the United States' position on Taiwan had "not changed" and that his country "s 'strongly opposed unilateral efforts to alter the status quo or threaten peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait'.
For his part, Xi Jinping had called on Joe Biden not to "play with fire", and a spokesperson for Chinese diplomacy had spoken of Ms. Pelosi's trip to the island as a "red line". .
On Monday, some 4,000 American and Indonesian soldiers began a major joint military exercise, but Washington assured that these maneuvers were not aimed at any country.
The Taiwanese military for its part carried out its most important annual military exercises last week, which included simulations of intercepting Chinese attacks from the sea.
Meanwhile, the US aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and its flotilla left Singapore for the South China Sea as part of a scheduled operation, the US Navy said.
And on Saturday, in response, China held a "live ammunition" military exercise in the Taiwan Strait.
Washington has sought to downplay a possible visit by Ms. Pelosi to Taiwan and called on Chinese leaders for calm.
"We have many differences when it comes to Taiwan, but over the past 40 years we have managed those differences and done so in a way that has preserved peace and stability," the Secretary of State said on Friday. US State Antony Blinken.
In Taiwan, opinions are divided on the prospect of a visit by Ms Pelosi, but senior figures from the ruling party and the opposition have said that the island must not give in to Chinese pressure.
"If Pelosi were to cancel or postpone his trip, it would be a victory for the Chinese government and for Xi, as it would show that the pressure he exerted has achieved certain desired effects," Hung Chin-fu told AFP. , from National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan.
