OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 12:00 PM PT – Friday, July 29, 2022
The Chinese Embassy in Washington has reportedly warned US lawmakers not to join House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on her possible trip to Taiwan. According to NBC News on Thursday, cited Congressman Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) claimed that Chinese diplomats are trying to pressure lawmakers into preventing Pelosi from going to Taiwan.
In addition, the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco is reportedly contacting US lawmakers with a similar demand. This after China threatened Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan posed a risk of military conflict in the far east. Meantime, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Biden earlier on Thursday that the US is “playing with fire” over Taiwan.
“I think should Speaker Pelosi proceed with the trip, it would coincide with the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army in China,” said Mark Cozad, acting associate director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at the Rand Corp. “We’re likely, I think, to see an increase and a noticeable increase in Chinese airspace incursions in and around Taiwan in the event that she proceeds with her trip. We may even see something called a median line incursion and that’s a breach of the maritime border that exists in the center of the Taiwan Strait.”
They also said that a stepped up US military presence to safeguard Pelosi risked raising tensions. US lawmakers said it is a “miscalculation” on China’s part to try and pressure them.
The #Chinese side has repeatedly made clear to the #US side our serious concern over Speaker Pelosi’s planed visit to #Taiwan and our firm opposition. We are fully prepared for any eventuality.
— 刘晓明Liu Xiaoming (@AmbLiuXiaoMing) July 26, 2022
“It is very possible that our attempts to deter can actually send a much different signal than the one we intend to send,” the associate director stated. “And so you get into some sort of an escalatory spiral where our attempts to deter are actually seen as increasingly provocative and vice versa. That can be a very dangerous dynamic.”
Unbelievable: Karine Jean-Pierre says the White House won’t respond to Chinese state media threats to shoot down Nancy Pelosi’s plane should she visit Taiwan.
“We’re just not going to speak on her schedule.”
Abject, embarrassing weakness. pic.twitter.com/4Biw7DsqBr
— John Cooper (@thejcoop) July 29, 2022