WH says it won’t 'take the bait or engage in saber rattling' with China over possible Pelosi visit to Taiwan
During the White House press briefing on Monday, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the Biden administration would not “take the bait or engage in saber rattling” with China in response to the country’s criticism of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's possible trip to Taiwan.
Video Transcript
JOHN KIRBY: Now, we and countries around the world believe escalation serves no one. Beijing's actions could have unintended consequences that only serve to increase tensions.
Meanwhile, our actions are not threatening and they break no new ground. Nothing about this potential visit-- potential visit, which oh, by the way, has precedent-- would change the status quo. And the world should reject any PRC effort to use it to do so.
We will not take the bait or engage in saber rattling. At the same time, we will not be intimidated. We will keep operating in the seas and the skies of the Western Pacific as we have for decades. We will continue to support Cross-Strait Peace, stability, support Taiwan, of course, defend a free and open Indo-Pacific, and we're still gonna seek to maintain lines of communication with Beijing. All of that is important. And all of that, all of it is preserving the status quo.
