The Pentagon could send additional ships, aircraft and surveillance systems to protect US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi if she proceeds with her plan to visit Taiwan, AP reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed US officials.
A “contingency plan”, which is being developed by the American military, involves creating “overlapping rings of protection” for the speaker during her flight to the island and her stay there, the news agency said.
The officials also spoke of the need to create “buffer zones” around Pelosi and her plane during the visit, ready for any potential incidents relating to China, AP reported.
Beijing, which considers the self-governed island a part of its territory, has repeatedly warned that Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan might trigger a serious reaction and have “unbearable consequences” for relations between China and the US.
“If the US insists on going its own way and challenging China’s bottom line, it will surely be met with forceful responses,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian told journalists on Wednesday.