The leader of the United States Congress, Nancy Pelosy, began a tour of Asia on Monday in Singapore, marked by doubts as to whether it will include a controversial visit to Taiwan, whose sovereignty Beijing claims. Nancy Pelosi, however, has already raised the issue with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during a morning meeting.
According to a statement released by the Singapore Foreign Ministry, Pelosi and Lee Hsien Loong “exchanged views on their respective positions” on some key regional and international issues.
The conversation addressed “relations with the (Formosa) Strait, that is, between the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan, the autonomous democratic island that Beijing considers part of its territory and that does not rule out invading, despite the fact that Washington maintains an ambiguous position. about.
Pelosi will also be in Singapore on Tuesday, then will travel to Malaysia, South Korea and Japan, according to the White House, which declined to confirm, for security reasons, whether the delegation will also go to Taiwan.
If confirmed, Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan will be the first by a US House Speaker since 1997, when Republican Newt Gingrich visited the island.
Pelosi heading to Asia but without mentioning a possible stopover in Taiwan
The Chinese government has made it clear that this trip will be seen as a threat, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian warning that the Asian giant will “firmly respond” to what it sees as a provocation and that the US will have to “assume all the consequences” that may arise.
China does not want Nancy Pelosi in Taiwan and threatens “firm and resolute measures” if the trip materializes
In addition to Taiwan, Pelosi and Lee Hsien Loong addressed the war in Ukraine, one of the issues that causes the most friction between China and the United States, as well as climate change on the international scene.
The Prime Minister of Singapore, a country that is assumed to be equidistant between China and the United States, strong economic and security partners, respectively, stressed the importance of “a stable relationship between China and the US for regional peace and security“.
Lee also hailed the “strong commitment” to the region expressed by the US delegation, given China’s growing influence in the area, and the two discussed ways to deepen US economic influence through initiatives such as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).
Launched last May, IPEF is a new regional cooperation scheme that aims to promote trade and investment between the US and a dozen countries in the region, bringing together the countries that make up the Quad group (USA of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The Prime Minister of Singapore reaffirmed “the deep and multifaceted collaboration” between his country and the United States, based on “a Solid cooperation in the areas of defence, security and economy“said the statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore.
Pelosi, who is traveling accompanied by five legislators, including the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives, Gregory Meeks, also met with the island’s deputy prime minister, Lawrence Wong, with the Minister of National Security, Two Chee Hean, and with the Minister of Social Policy, Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
The Democrat also spoke by phone with Singaporean President Halimah Yacob.
Source: Observadora
