Kirby Seeks To Roll Back Tensions Over Pelosi Taiwan Visit

White House National Security Spokesperson John Kirby is seeking to clarify and de-escalate tensions of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's potential Taiwan trip at a press conference from the White House.

• Livestream: https://www.whitehouse.gov/live/
• On Taiwan, Kirby has that Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi has not confirmed any travel plans.
• Kirby: It is for the Speaker and her staff to confirm any travel plans so we won't be commenting or speculating about any stops on her trip.
• Kirby continues: We have been clear from the beginning that she will make her own decisions and Congress is an independent branch of government.
• Kirby said that the PRC is well aware of the distinctions of US government and that a Speaker of the House has visited Taiwan in the past without incident.
• Kirby: "Nothing has changed. Nothing has changed (emphasis of Kirby) about our One-China policy which is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the three joint communiques and the six assurances."
• Kirby maintains that the US has repeatedly said that we do not support Taiwan independence and oppose unilateral moves to challenge the status quo.
• Kirby: "Put simply, there is no reason for Beijing to turn a potential [Pelosi's] visit, which is consistent with long standing US policy into a crisis or conflict. Or use it as a pretext to increase aggressive military activity in, or around, the Taiwan Strait. And yet, over the weekend, even before Speaker Pelosi arrived in the region, China conducted a live-fire exercise and appears to be positioning itself to take further steps in the coming days and perhaps over long time horizons.
• Kirby: We believe escalation serves no-one and China's actions could have unintended consequences that only serve to increase tensions.
• Kirby: Our actions, on the other hand are not threatening and they break no new ground. Nothing about this potential visit can change the status quo.
• Kirby: "We will not be intimidated. We will keep operating in the seas and the skies of the Western Pacific as we have for decades."
• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also released a statement distancing the administration from a potential Pelosi trip.
• Blinken: "We do not know if Speaker Pelosi plans to visit Taiwan."
• Blinken: "The US is looking to Beijing to act responsibly and not engage in escalation if Pelosi visits Taiwan."