WEBVTT - Samson Ellis on Pelosi's Asia Trip

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<v Speaker 1>Let's get more now on what you were talking about

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<v Speaker 1>with your top story. The US how speaking, Nancy Pelosi

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<v Speaker 1>to visit Asian countries, including here in Singapore and Japan,

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<v Speaker 1>but her office has made no mention of a stopover

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<v Speaker 1>in Taiwan. Joining us to discuss is Samson Ellis Taipei

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<v Speaker 1>Bureau Chief. Uh. Sam, you know, we're just waiting to

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<v Speaker 1>see whether or not Nancy Pelosi will defy these Chinese

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<v Speaker 1>warnings with a stop in Taiwan. Tell us the latest here,

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<v Speaker 1>as we don't have any kind of indication on her

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<v Speaker 1>itinery that that's actually going to happen. Well, that is

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<v Speaker 1>precisely the big question we're all trying to answer here,

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<v Speaker 1>Will she come to Taiwan or not? So she finally

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<v Speaker 1>released the official itinerary of her trip yesterday that includes

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<v Speaker 1>Singapore first of all, Malaysia Career, and Japan. But obviously

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<v Speaker 1>the question is is Taiwan going to be added to

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<v Speaker 1>the trip as an unofficial stop. Um. So, there was

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of eyes on her trip to Asia over

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<v Speaker 1>the weekend, and SPA nineteen was the key aircraft identifier.

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<v Speaker 1>Tens of thousands of people were watching on flight radar

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<v Speaker 1>over the weekend to see if it veered towards Taiwan.

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<v Speaker 1>It ended up not doing so. I mean, it did

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<v Speaker 1>switch off its tracker for a while, leaving everybody watching

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<v Speaker 1>rather disappointed. But when it did turn its transponder on again,

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<v Speaker 1>it was landing in Singapore. UM, so obviously she didn't

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<v Speaker 1>land in Taiwan on her way to Asia or arriving

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<v Speaker 1>in Asia. But so they are. Now. The question is

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<v Speaker 1>whether or not she's going to stop off in Taiwan

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<v Speaker 1>on the way out, maybe after she visits Japan on Thursday. Sam,

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<v Speaker 1>I think it's fair to say that the US has

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<v Speaker 1>been frustrated by Beijing's refusal to condemn the war in Ukraine.

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<v Speaker 1>And I'm wondering whether or not you think, as Pelosi

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<v Speaker 1>takes the delegation to places like Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea,

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<v Speaker 1>and Japan, whether the conversation is going to focus on Taiwan,

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<v Speaker 1>and whether or not she is just making sure that

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<v Speaker 1>those US um friends, let's call them friends at this point,

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<v Speaker 1>are willing to stand behind any message that needs to

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<v Speaker 1>be sent to Beijing from the US perspective as it

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<v Speaker 1>applies to Taiwan. Well, Asia is very much divided on

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<v Speaker 1>this issue. You typically have nations in Southeast Asia who

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<v Speaker 1>are a little bit more circumspect in offering support to

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<v Speaker 1>Taiwan because they are much more dependent on China for

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<v Speaker 1>trade and manufacturing and you know, the economic TiSER so

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<v Speaker 1>much more important to them. And then you have the

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<v Speaker 1>likes of Japan, which has largely been relatively neutral on

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<v Speaker 1>the Taiwan issue, but over the past two years there's

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<v Speaker 1>been a real significant shift in how Japan is willing

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<v Speaker 1>to publicly state its support for for Taiwan UM and

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<v Speaker 1>the fact that you know, the securety of the Taiwan

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<v Speaker 1>straight equals Japan's national security too, so they've um they

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<v Speaker 1>really are a little bit of an outlier in Asia,

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<v Speaker 1>and their willingness to say things about Taiwan that you know,

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<v Speaker 1>possibly risk annoying Beijing. UM. And so definitely there's a

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<v Speaker 1>there's a there's different stances across Asia about how the

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<v Speaker 1>US interacts with Taiwan and the willingness to speak out

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<v Speaker 1>in favor of it. What is the reaction from the

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<v Speaker 1>people in Taiwan to this, you know, potential trip and

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<v Speaker 1>would a trip to Taiwan from Nancy Pelosi actually benefit Taiwan? Well,

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<v Speaker 1>it's been very interesting to watch the reaction here in Taiwan.

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<v Speaker 1>It's been a collective shrug. To be perfectly honest. It

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<v Speaker 1>has not dominated the news cycle at all over the

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<v Speaker 1>last week really. I mean, it's been in the news,

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<v Speaker 1>but it hasn't been the top story throughout UM. And

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<v Speaker 1>it really is seen as a you know, partially because

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<v Speaker 1>there are questions about whether this trip really is in

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<v Speaker 1>Taiwan's best interests um. You know, it does it bring

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<v Speaker 1>any concrete benefit to Taiwan, um. You know, in some

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<v Speaker 1>ways it does create a bit of a headache for Taiwan.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, it thrust Taiwan very much into the global limelight. Uh.

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<v Speaker 1>And Taiwan isn't really able to you know, Taiwan always

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<v Speaker 1>welcomes international recognition or or a little bit of you know,

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<v Speaker 1>it's time in the lightline limelight in the international stage

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<v Speaker 1>because it is typically denied a lot of participation in

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<v Speaker 1>international affairs UM. And so they welcome all of these

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<v Speaker 1>kinds of trips. But it becomes very difficult for Taiwan

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<v Speaker 1>to then like push back potentially on the United States

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<v Speaker 1>and say, hey, actually, is this in our best interest

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<v Speaker 1>right now? You know, do we really need to have

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<v Speaker 1>respond to an angry re action from China to this trip.

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<v Speaker 1>But on the other side, you know what Pelosi's trip

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<v Speaker 1>does do is it does demonstrate continued, on going strong

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<v Speaker 1>US support for Taiwan from across the US political spectrum.

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<v Speaker 1>Is there's not just an executive issue that on the

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<v Speaker 1>legendstive of sides, Taiwan does enjoy incredibly strong support in

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<v Speaker 1>the US at a time when President Biden is hoping

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<v Speaker 1>to have a face to face meeting with Chinese President

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<v Speaker 1>Chi Junping. I mean, it was last week that Biden

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<v Speaker 1>essentially supported the One China policy. So this is a

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<v Speaker 1>very difficult piece of real estate for the US to

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<v Speaker 1>try to negotiate, no doubt, and I think it's become

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<v Speaker 1>quite clear over the past two weeks that there is

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit of there's not unity on the U

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<v Speaker 1>s side about this trip that the White House would

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<v Speaker 1>have may be preferred it not to happen, especially right now. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>And then you know, obviously there's the question of how

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<v Speaker 1>much that's understood in beiging that you know, this division

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<v Speaker 1>of powers, and that the White House cannot order Pelosi

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<v Speaker 1>to back off the trip. Um they simply don't have

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<v Speaker 1>the power to do so. Nanti Plosi is obviously very

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<v Speaker 1>much her own woman, and if she wants to go,

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<v Speaker 1>she's going to go, all right. We will continue to monitor.

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you so much too, Bloomberg Sampson llis Taipei Bureau

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<v Speaker 1>chief with us from Taipei.