House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to depart for Asia on Friday, embarking on a diplomatic trip with the potential to upset the Chinese Communist Party. Pelosi is scheduled to visit several allied Asian countries during her multi-day tour of the continent. One potential destination with significant implications is Taiwan — officially known as the Republic of China. The island had been expecting a visit from Pelosi, but recent threats from the People’s Republic of China have drawn global attention to the possible visit. Pelosi’s office declined to provide information about the trip. Pelosi is also scheduled to give her weekly news conference on Capitol Hill at 11:30 a.m. Friday. ET. CANCELING PELOSI’S TAIWAN VISIT WOULD CREATE A ‘MAJOR FOREIGN POLICY CRISIS’ SEN. IT SAYS COTTON House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 21, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) Pelosi had planned to visit Taiwan in April, which would have made her the highest-ranking US official to visit the island since 1997, but was forced to cancel the trip after testing positive for the coronavirus. Pelosi has not officially rescheduled the trip, but rumors say she still plans to go after saying last week that it was “important for us to show support for Taiwan.” BIDEN-XI CALL LAST OVER 2 HOURS. BEIJING WARNS US NOT TO ‘PLAY WITH FIRE’ IN TAIWAN Chinese President Xi Jinping warned President Biden in a phone call on Thursday that the US should not “play with fire” in Taiwan. “Those who play with fire will perish by it. It is hoped that the US will have clear eyes on this,” a Chinese readout of the Biden-Xi call said. The People’s Republic of China has long claimed sovereignty over Taiwan and the Taiwan Strait, the relatively narrow strip of ocean between the island of Taiwan and mainland China. The Chinese military has frequently sent planes to the area, testing Taiwan’s air defense zone. President Biden released a photo of himself talking on the phone after a call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, July 28, 2022. (White House) The United States does not have formal relations with Taiwan, but has stepped up its engagement with the island as China seeks to isolate it by global institutions. TAIWANIANS SAY CHINA’S THREATS DURING NANCY PELOSI’S VISIT ARE JUST HOT “We do not confirm or deny international travel in advance due to longstanding security protocols,” a Rep. Pelosi Fox News Digital said Wednesday morning. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Chinese officials told The Associated Press that if Pelosi goes to Taiwan, the military will increase troop and resource movements in the Indo-Pacific region. The Associated Press reported that the Pentagon was planning a Pelosi trip, saying fighter jets, ships, surveillance assets and other military systems would likely be used to provide overlapping rings of protection for her flight to Taiwan and any time on the ground there. Timothy Nerozzi is a writer for Fox News Digital. You can follow him on Twitter @timothynerozzi and email him at [email protected]
