TAIWAN: U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday, 2 August, as part of her current Asia tour. This makes her the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the island in 25 years.

Speaker Pelosi’s visit comes at a time when relations between the U.S. and China have hit a particularly low point. It also defies the numerous stark warnings made by Beijing in the past few days, leading to soaring tensions between the two superpowers.

Upon landing in Taipei's Songshan Airport, the U.S. House Speaker was directly greeted by Taiwanese officials, including Foreign Minister Joseph Wu.

Pelosi tweeted not long after that her delegation’s visit to Taiwan “honors America’s unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan’s vibrant Democracy.”

“America’s solidarity with the 23 million people of Taiwan is more important today than ever, as the world faces a choice between autocracy and democracy,” she said.

She further added that her delegation’s visit “is one of several Congressional delegations to Taiwan” and in no way contradicts long-standing U.S. policy, “guided by the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, U.S.-China Joint Communiques and the Six Assurances.”

In response to the news of the U.S. House Speaker’s arrival in Taiwan, the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Tuesday night, conversely saying that the visit “is a serious violation of the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-U.S. joint communiqués.”

The statement further emphasized that the U.S. is infringing upon China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and is sending a “wrong signal” to those who wish for Taiwan independence.

“The United States, for its part, has been attempting to use Taiwan to contain China,” added the statement. “It constantly distorts, obscures and hollows out the one-China principle, steps up its official exchanges with Taiwan, and emboldens "Taiwan independence" separatist activities. These moves, like playing with fire, are extremely dangerous. Those who play with fire will perish by it.”

Chinese state media has also reported that China’s military will hold drills near Taiwan from 4-7 August.

According to Taiwan's official central news agency, Speaker Pelosi is expected to meet Taiwan President Tsai Ing-Wen on Wednesday before departing from the island in the afternoon.