House Speaker Pelosi To Depart On Asia Tour Today - Taiwan Stop Undecided

According to CNN, quoting sources familiar with plans, Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will depart on her tour of Asia today.

• The trip is expected to take in stops in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore but whether the Speaker will include Taiwan, a source of increased tension between Beijing and Washington, is still unclear.
• Pelosi has a press briefing scheduled for 10:45 ET/15:45BST which will be broadcast on C-SPAN2: https://www.c-span.org/video/?522077-1/house-speaker-pelosi-holds-legislative-briefing
• It is unlikely that Pelosi will reveal details of her trip in her presser. She said this week: "I never talk about my travel. It's a danger to me."
• Yesterday, President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping dedicated a significant chunk of a 2 hour and 17 minute call to reaffirming a longstanding adherence to the One China policy and Taiwan Relations Act.
• Beijing believes that such a high-profile visit from a US lawmaker amounts to overt support for Taipei and a repudiation of the US policy of strategic ambiguity.
• Pelosi has a history of making grand gestures to demonstrate commitment to pro-democracy causes. This is especially true of China where she unfurled a a pro-democracy banner in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1991.
• History suggests that she will follow through on the Taiwan visit, but it is likely the Pentagon and the White House are pushing the Speaker to postpone or abandon the trip.
• Josh Rogin at the Washington Post: "Diplomatic sources tell me Speaker Pelosi's visit to Taiwan next week is expected to happen, in the early part of her Asia tour. Pelosi's office says trip possible, but not confirmed."