US military making plans in case Pelosi travels to Taiwan

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Officials in the United States said they have little concern that China will target Nancy Pelosi's plane if she flies to Taiwan. However, the US House Speaker would be entering an area, where US-China tensions are on the rise. As a result, the Pentagon is preparing for every situation. 

Officials told AP that if Pelosi visits Taiwan, which remains a possibility, the military will expand its movement of forces and assets in the Indo-Pacific region.

They declined to elaborate but claimed that fighter jets, ships, surveillance assets, and other military systems would most likely be employed to create overlapping bands of protection for her travel to Taiwan and any time she spent on the land there.

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Any foreign travel by a senior US leader requires additional security. But officials said this week that a visit to Taiwan by Pelosi — who would be the highest-ranking US elected official to visit Taiwan since 1997 — would go beyond the usual safety precautions for trips to less risky destinations.

Asked about planned military steps to protect Pelosi in the event of a visit, US Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Wednesday that discussion of any specific travel is premature.

He added, “if there’s a decision made that Speaker Pelosi or anyone else is going to travel and they asked for military support, we will do what is necessary to ensure the safe conduct of their visit. And I’ll just leave it at that.”

Increased security 

The US officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security problems, outlined the necessity for buffer zones to be established around the speaker and her plane. The United States already has sizable soldiers distributed over the region, so any additional security could be handled largely by assets already in place.

The military would also need to be ready for any incident, whether a mishap in the air or on the ground. They stated that the United States would require nearby rescue capabilities, which might include helicopters aboard ships currently in the vicinity.

Pelosi, a Democrat from California, has not officially announced any new plans for a trip to Taiwan. She was supposed to go in April, but she canceled after testing positive for COVID-19.

Chinese military on alert

China's Ministry of National Defense, Tan Kefei, warned on Tuesday that the Chinese military will not sit back if US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan. His statement was made in response to a press inquiry regarding the issue. 
  
China demands that the United States keep its promise that it would not support "Taiwan independence," Tan said, adding that if Washington insists on making the visit, the Chinese military will take strong actions to counter any external interference or "Taiwan independence" separatist scheme, and will be determined in safeguarding China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity. 

Call between Biden and Jinping

A Pelosi visit may overshadow a phone meeting scheduled for Thursday between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, their first in four months. On the condition of anonymity, a US official confirmed the call's plans to the Associated Press ahead of the public announcement.

According to US officials, the administration is skeptical that China will allegedly take direct action against Pelosi or try to derail the visit. 

Security experts disagreed Tuesday on the scope of any threat during the trip and the need for additional military security.

'Firm measures to defend sovereignty'

On Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian stated that Beijing has frequently conveyed its "solemn view" regarding a possible Pelosi visit. According to him, China is ready to "take robust and powerful actions to preserve national sovereignty and territorial integrity."

According to US sources, the possibility of a Chinese intercept or show of force near Pelosi's trip "raises worries", necessitating the presence of American aircraft and other forces nearby.

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The USS Ronald Reagan and its strike group are now operating in the western Pacific, with a port stop in Singapore over the weekend. At least two other Navy ships and Carrier Air Wing 5, which comprises F/A-18 fighter fighters, helicopters, and observation aircraft, are part of the strike group.

The strike group was operating in the South China Sea before arriving in Singapore. A destroyer, the USS Benfold, has also been performing freedom of navigation operations in the vicinity, including a voyage across the Taiwan Strait last week.