Pelosi Aboard Military Aircraft Near Taiwan, White House Confirms Amid Escalating China Threats

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is traveling through Asia aboard a U.S. military aircraft, the White House has confirmed less than a week after Chinese communist media personality suggested she should be shot out of the air.

“It is commonplace for the Speaker to travel aboard a U.S. military transport aircraft,” said White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby during a press briefing on Aug. 1. “That’s very typical.”

“Part of our responsibility is to make sure that she can travel safely and securely and I can assure you that she will.”

Kirby confirmed that “the speaker is flying aboard a military aircraft,” just days after a Chinese state-owned media personality said that Pelosi should be shot down if she flew to Taiwan with a military escort.

Kirby did not specify if Pelosi had an armed escort in the air or not, but said that the White House, Pentagon, and national security team were monitoring the situation following increasingly hostile rhetoric from Beijing.

“We’re going to watch this very, very closely,” Kirby said. “We’re going to make sure that she has a safe and secure visit.”

Chinese communist furor of the trip has increased daily since it was first reported that Pelosi was considering making a stop in Taiwan amid her currently ongoing tour of Southeast Asia. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has since vowed “forceful measures,” and CCP leader Xi Jinping told President Joe Biden that the United States was “playing with fire.”

Kirby said that Beijing’s “irresponsible rhetoric” created tension without cause. The United States’ policy regarding Taiwan and China had not changed he said, and Pelosi’s rumored trip would be in line with previous trips made by U.S. officials to the democratically-governed island.

“The Speaker has the right to visit Taiwan and the Speak of the House has visited Taiwan

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