Pelosi: China cannot stop US officials from visiting Taiwan

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday that China will not isolate Taiwan by preventing US officials from travelling there.

She made the remarks in Tokyo, the final leg of an Asia tour highlighted by a visit to Taiwan that infuriated China.

Pelosi, the first House speaker to visit Taiwan in 25 years, said Wednesday in Taipei that the US commitment to democracy in the self-governing island and elsewhere “remains ironclad”.

Pelosi and five other members of Congress arrived in Tokyo late Thursday after visiting Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and South Korea.

China, which claims Taiwan and has threatened to annex it by force if necessary, called her visit to the island a provocation and on Thursday began military drills, including missile firing, in six zones surrounding Taiwan.