At a time of heightened tension between the United States and China over its possible visit to Taiwan, which Beijing is preparing as a provocation, as Taipei is part of its

territory. Speaker Nancy Pelosi of the United States House of Representatives begins an Asian tour involving both Singapore, which she arrived on Monday, as well as Malaysia, South Korea and Japan.

Pelosi arrived in Singapore, the first stop of her tour, where Prime Minister Lee Hsien Long called on her to seek "stable" relations with Beijing. She is also scheduled to meet with President Halima Yacoub.

After long maintaining ambiguity on its platform in Asia, Pelosi announced Sunday that she was leading "a delegation of Congress in the Indo-Pacific to reaffirm the United States' firm commitment in the region."

"In Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan, we will hold high-level meetings to discuss how we can promote our shared values and interests, in particular security, peace, economic growth, trade, the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, as well as human rights and democratic governance," she added, without mentioning Taiwan.

It should be noted that the United States pursues a foreign policy towards Taiwan known as "strategic ambiguity", based on the recognition of one Chinese Government, the Beijing authorities, and continuing to provide decisive support to Taipei while refraining from clarifying whether to defend it militarily in the event of an invasion by China to restore it to its sovereignty.

But Pelosi's potential visit is sensitive, as the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives is a central figure in the Democratic camp and close to President Joe Biden. But her halt in Taiwan complicates the U.S. State's task of straining the lack of further escalation in relations with China.

China's foreign affairs warned on Monday that the visit would "threaten peace and stability" in the Taiwan Strait if it were to take place.

"If U.S. Speaker Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan, China will take firm and vigorous response to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity," foreign spokesman Zhao Lijian said.

"As for the nature of the procedures, if you dare to visit, we will wait and see."

In a direct telephone call with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, US President Joe Biden confirmed that the US position on Taiwan had "not changed" and that his country was "firmly opposed to unilateral efforts to change the status quo or threaten peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait".

The Chinese president said he called on Biden "not to play in the fire" while a Chinese foreign spokesman considered Pelosi's possible visit to the island a "red line."

Washington sought to mitigate the importance of Pelosi's possible visit to Taiwan and called on Chinese officials to calm down.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said, "We have many differences over Taiwan, but over the last 40 years we have managed these differences and done so in a way that has maintained peace and stability."

At a time of heightened tension between the United States and China over its possible visit to Taiwan, which Beijing is preparing as a provocation, as Taipei is part of its territory. Speaker Nancy Pelosi of the United States House of Representatives begins an Asian tour involving both Singapore, which she arrived on Monday, as well as Malaysia, South Korea and Japan.

Pelosi arrived in Singapore, the first stop of her tour, where Prime Minister Lee Hsien Long called on her to seek "stable" relations with Beijing. She is also scheduled to meet with President Halima Yacoub.

After long maintaining ambiguity on its platform in Asia, Pelosi announced Sunday that she was leading "a delegation of Congress in the Indo-Pacific to reaffirm the United States' firm commitment in the region."

"In Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan, we will hold high-level meetings to discuss how we can promote our shared values and interests, in particular security, peace, economic growth, trade, the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, as well as human rights and democratic governance," she added, without mentioning Taiwan.

It should be noted that the United States pursues a foreign policy towards Taiwan known as "strategic ambiguity", based on the recognition of one Chinese Government, the Beijing authorities, and continuing to provide decisive support to Taipei while refraining from clarifying whether to defend it militarily in the event of an invasion by China to restore it to its sovereignty.

But Pelosi's potential visit is sensitive, as the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives is a central figure in the Democratic camp and close to President Joe Biden. But her halt in Taiwan complicates the U.S. State's task of straining the lack of further escalation in relations with China.

China's foreign affairs warned on Monday that the visit would "threaten peace and stability" in the Taiwan Strait if it were to take place.

"If U.S. Speaker Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan, China will take firm and vigorous response to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity," foreign spokesman Zhao Lijian said.

"As for the nature of the procedures, if you dare to visit, we will wait and see."

In a direct telephone call with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, US President Joe Biden confirmed that the US position on Taiwan had "not changed" and that his country was "firmly opposed to unilateral efforts to change the status quo or threaten peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait".

The Chinese president said he called on Biden "not to play in the fire" while a Chinese foreign spokesman considered Pelosi's possible visit to the island a "red line."

Washington sought to mitigate the importance of Pelosi's possible visit to Taiwan and called on Chinese officials to calm down.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said, "We have many differences over Taiwan, but over the last 40 years we have managed these differences and done so in a way that has maintained peace and stability."