Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) was forced to implement additional security measures to secure flight safety after an alleged bomb threat was reported ahead of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s possible visit with President Tsai Ing-wen.
The Aviation Police Bureau confirmed that a special team had been assigned to ensure safety in TPE after false information claimed that three explosives had been placed across the airport, Focus Taiwan reported on August 2, 2022.
The airport operator immediately responded to the matter and performed a detailed search, but no suspicious items were found, the police said.
The bomb threat follows recent news of Pelosi’s visit to Taipei later on August 2, where she is expected to attend multiple meetings, including a visit with President Tsai Ing-wen and a group of local activists who are outspoken about China’s human rights record, Reuters reported on the same day.
Meanwhile, China, whose relations with Taiwan are currently considered the worst they have been for 40 years, has repeatedly warned the US against Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
“Faced with reckless U.S. disregard of China’s repeated and serious representations, any countermeasures taken by the Chinese side will be justified and necessary, which is also the right of any independent and sovereign country,” the spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Hua Chunying, said during a briefing in Beijing.
When the US military aircraft, likely carrying Pelosi and her delegation, was noticed possibly bypassing the South China Sea, several Chinese warplanes were spotted flying close to the median line dividing the Taiwan Strait, where China was increasing its military activity ahead of Pelosi’s visit, according to a report by Taiwan News.