Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen to meet US house speaker in California

Taipei: Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen may meet US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California.

Taiwan's foreign ministry hasn't confirmed or denied the planned visit which is speculated to take place in April. Spokesman Jeff Liu said the ministry will announce to the public if there is any confirmed arrangement for the president's visit but we don't have any relevant information to share at the moment.

The decision was likely taken hours after Taipei said a high-profile US visit can provoke a Chinese military response. When former Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022, China condemned it and held massive military drills around the island nation. It was suspected to be a preparation for an invasion.

An unidentified senior Taiwanese official told the Financial Times that the government provided McCarthy's staff intelligence about Chinese threats.

Taiwan's defence minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said the sharp increase in Chinese defence spending announced at the weekend could be bad for the island. "I think they are waiting for a good reason to send troops, such as high-level visits from other countries to Taiwan or too-frequent activities between our military and other countries." He added that Taipei is "making advance preparations" for incursions deeper into waters around the island.

The US is Taiwan's one of closest allies and biggest arms suppliers. While the US recognises Beijing's One China policy, it is against any unilateral changes to the status quo.

Taiwan is under constant threat of invasion by China because Beijing claims the island is its territory. A recent statement said that the territory will be seized one day, by force if necessary. Taiwan is a democratically ruled nation and has maintained that only its people can decide who rules it.