By Ere-ebi Agedah Imisi
House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday with a clear message for China, saying the US commitment to a democratic Taiwan is more important than ever as several US warships sailed in waters near Taiwan, US military officials said.
She stressed that the visit by her congressional delegation, which includes an overnight stay, was completely in line with longstanding US policy on Taiwan.
Amid Chinese anger over Pelosi’s controversial visit to the island Beijing, China announced it would hold live-fire military drills in the Taiwan Strait in response to Pelosi’s visit.
The US Navy’s Seventh Fleet said the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan was operating in the Philippine Sea, south of Taiwan.
The US Navy published images of the usually Japan-based Ronald Reagan conducting maneuvers with the cargo ship USS Carl Brashear on Sunday.
The Ronald Reagan was accompanied by the USS Higgins, a destroyer that is part of its strike group, a US Navy official said on condition of anonymity.
Additionally, the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli was operating east of Taiwan, the US Navy official said, confirming reports from the United States Naval Institute (USNI), a professional association with close ties to the Navy.
US officials have sought to reassure Beijing that the positioning of these two ships in the region was not linked to Pelosi’s visit, who became the highest-ranking elected US official to visit the island since predecessor Newt Gingrich traveled there in 1997.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told CNN that Washington would make sure Pelosi had a safe and secure visit.
However, as of Tuesday evening, China’s defence ministry said the military has been put on high alert and will launch “targeted military operations” in response to Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
