Taiwan, the self-governing democratic island 128 kilometres off the coast of China, has long been a point of tension between Washington and Beijing.
Now with an expected visit to capital city Taipei by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, those tensions are escalating to record-highs.
Ms Pelosi may touch down in Taiwan as early as Tuesday evening (2 AUG) as part of her Asia tour, making her the highest-ranking U-S official to visit in more than 25 years.
It's a move that Beijing sees as encouragement to make the island's independence from China permanent, a step U-S leaders say they don't support.
Chinese President Xi Jinping voiced to Joe Biden in a phone call last week, warning that the U-S were "playing with fire".
But the U-S has decried the warnings, with White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby saying his country has no interest in increasing tensions with China or interfering with their battle for Taiwan.
President Xi has made it clear that he sees unifying Taiwan with China to be a primary goal of his rule, vowing to take the island back by force if necessary.
U-S spokesman John Kirby says Beijing may use Ms Pelosi's visit as an excuse to take provocative retaliatory steps in the region.
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