White House faces questions on Pelosi trip to Taiwan, death of al-Qaida leader | LIVE

John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council, said on Tuesday that the U.S. would not engage in "saber-rattling" amid House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the island of Taiwan, even as China "will continue to react over a longer-term horizon." He said this could include announcing additional large-scale live-fire exercises and using economic coercion.

He made the comments during a White House press briefing.

Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday night local time, becoming the highest-ranking American official to visit the self-ruled island that is claimed by China in 25 years. It came even as China had warned of "resolute and strong measures" if Pelosi went ahead with the trip.

The Biden administration had not explicitly urged her to call it off, but also sought to assure Beijing the trip would signal any change in U.S. policy on Taiwan, however China's foreign minister said Washington's betrayal "on the Taiwan issue is bankrupting its national credibility."

Kirby added that the response from China has "thus far" been "consistent with the playbook we expected them to run." On Monday, Kirby had said some of these would include announcing live-fire exercises and flying across the median line.

He also spoke about the death of al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri who, according to President Joe Biden, was sheltering in a safehouse in Kabul and was killed in “a precise tailored airstrike” using two Hellfire missiles this weekend. It was the biggest blow to the militant group since Bin Laden was killed in 2011. The drone strike was conducted after being authorized by Biden following weeks of meetings with his cabinet and key advisers, the president said in his remarks. No American personnel were on the ground in Kabul at the time of the strike.

Kirby said that if some al-Qaida members were asked how they felt about their safety in Afghanistan following the death of leader al-Zawahiri, they'd say it "isn't a safe haven" for terrorists. He also said the missile strike by the U.S. that killed al-Zawahiri showed "how serious we are" about accountability and defending their interests.

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