US House Speaker McCarthy expected to visit Taipei: Reports

The newly-elected Speaker of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy plans to travel to Chinese Taipei, reports say, in what would renew tensions with China.

Media reports said on Tuesday that the US Defense Department was preparing for McCarthy’s visit to Taipei this spring.

If McCarthy does go on to travel to Taipei, it would be the second trip to the self-ruled island by a US House speaker in less than a year, sparking almost back-to-back escalation with China, which has sovereignty over Taipei. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island in August last year, bypassing Beijing diplomatically and establishing direct contact with Taipei to plan the trip.

That angered China, which issued statements critical of Pelosi and the US and staged large military exercises in waters near the island to assert its sovereignty.

Tensions in the Taiwan Strait reached levels not seen in three decades with live-fire drills in several areas around the island.

McCarthy’s possible visit could also waste any gains from a meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit last November, which was intended to pave the way for improved relations between the two nations after Pelosi’s visit.

MG