Although there has been no official announcement, local media in Taiwan have reported that Ms. Pelosi will arrive in Taipei on Tuesday. The US Air Force plane that flew Ms Pelosi to Malaysia took off from Kuala Lumpur – it is not clear if Ms Pelosi is on the plane, but the US Navy has simultaneously deployed four warships east of Taiwan. A US official called these “routine deployments”. Before her arrival, China’s foreign ministry confirmed that there had been contact with the US, adding that it wanted to be “clear about the seriousness and sensitivity of this matter”. Ms. Pelosi began a tour of four Asian countries on Monday, starting in Singapore. He arrived in Malaysia on Tuesday for the second leg, where he met Lower House Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun in parliament and then Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob. China has threatened retaliation ahead of the visit, raising concerns of a new crisis in the Taiwan Strait. Image: Nancy Pelosi shakes hands with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong Read more: Ill-timed Taiwan visit could tip US, China into crisis quietly China warns US not to ‘play with fire’ on Taiwan during two-hour talk The Taiwan question Beijing, which views Taiwan as a renegade province that will be annexed by force if necessary, has warned of repercussions, saying its military will “never stand idly by” if Ms Pelosi goes ahead with the visit. The country considers Taiwan part of its territory and sees contact between US officials and the country as encouragement to make permanent its decades-old de facto independence. The visit would make her the highest-ranking elected US official to visit in more than 25 years.

Few in Washington are surprised by the Speaker of the House’s trip

          Joe Pike

Political Correspondent @joepike Few in Washington are surprised by the Speaker of the House’s trip to Taiwan. In her decades-long political career, Nancy Pelosi has been passionate about international human rights and has criticized China for Tibet, Hong Kong and the Uighur genocide. She first made a name for herself when as a young fan in 1991 during a congressional trip to Beijing, she snuck away from her governors and unfurled a peace banner with two colleagues in Tiananmen Square. The three politicians were chased away by military police, but their stunt made headlines around the world. But China’s aggressive response to Ms. Pelosi’s visit and threats of “consequences” demonstrate exactly why the Pentagon was skeptical about the wisdom of such a trip. The White House has made it clear that it is not their role to tell Speaker Pelosi where or where to travel, but President Biden’s team appears to be the one left to defuse tensions, insisting they “will not take the bait and they engage in swordplay. -rattling”. Now 82 and unlikely to lead House Democrats long after the November midterms, Nancy Pelosi is likely thinking about her legacy. And what better way to cap off a congressional career than to cause another international incident at China’s expense. On Monday, the White House responded to Beijing’s rhetoric and said the US was not interested in deepening tensions with China and “will not take the bait or engage in rattlers.” Image: Nancy Pelosi in 1991 in Tiananmen Square. Photo: AP White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the administration was concerned Beijing could use the visit as an excuse to take provocative retaliation, including military action — such as firing missiles into the Taiwan Strait or conducting naval exercises big scale.