U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi kicked off a visit to Asia on Monday, arriving in Singapore on the first leg of a journey that was also expected to take her to self-ruled Taiwan, despite a chorus of warnings from China against such a move.
Pelosi is leading a six-member congressional delegation on the trip that also includes official stops in Malaysia, South Korea and Japan. She arrived early Monday in Singapore, after stops in Hawaii and Guam, both home to major U.S. military bases, and was to meet with officials in the Southeast Asian nation Tuesday.
But it has been the possibility of a visit to Taiwan — which China considers an integral part of its territory that must be brought back into the fold, by force if necessary — that has sparked strong condemnation from Beijing and even raised eyebrows in the White House.