During his Monday appearance on Newsmax, Rep. David Kustoff, R-Tenn., maintained that American private citizens have the right to travel to Taiwan.
"We should be on notice and on guard, but at the same time, Nancy Pelosi or any other government official, should have the right to travel to Taiwan or any other nation without," Kustoff tells "American Agenda, "without any fear of retribution."
On Monday, the National Security Council's Strategic Coordinator John Kirby reiterated the long-standing position of the United States, officially acknowledging a "One China" policy toward Taiwan that Beijing claims as a rouge province while also treating the island nation as a regular trading partner.
In his first appearance on CNN, Kirby maintained that there was "no reason for the Chinese rhetoric" and that the U.S. would "support Taiwan" under the "Taiwan Relations Act."
"There is no reason for the Chinese rhetoric," Kirby told CNN's Brianna Keilar. "There is no reason for any actions to be taken. It is not uncommon for congressional leaders to travel to Taiwan. It is very much in keeping with our policy. It is consistent with our support to Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act. We shouldn't be as a country ... we shouldn't be intimidated by that rhetoric or those potential actions. This is an important trip for the Speaker to be on, and we're going to do whatever we can to support her."
Later in the day, during a White House press conference, Kirby qualified that the U.S. does not support Taiwanese "independence" from mainland China.
"We have said that we do not support Taiwan independence and we have said that we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means," Kirby said, according to an article from the Independent. "Put simply, there is no reason for Beijing to turn a potential visit consistent with long-standing U.S. policy into some sort of crisis or conflict or use it as a pretext to increase aggressive military activity in or around the Taiwan Strait."
But in Kustoff's interview, he acknowledged that "clearly" the Chinese are "saber rattling." We all understand that. We appreciate that we should be on notice and on guard."
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