Pelosi and her delegation will also visit Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore, and spend time in Hawaii at the headquarters of US Indo-Pacific command, the paper added.

The Democratic leader’s visit to Taiwan had been postponed from April, after she tested positive for Covid-19. At the time, China said such a visit would severely affect Chinese-US relations.

Taiwan faces mounting pressure from China, which considers the democratically ruled island its own territory. The issue is a constant irritant in ties between Beijing and Washington.

Taiwan, however, has been heartened by continued support offered by the Biden administration, which has repeatedly talked of its “rock solid” commitment to the island.

Pelosi, a long-time critic of China, held an online meeting with Taiwan’s vice-president William Lai in January as he wrapped up a visit to the US and Honduras.

The White House had expressed concern about the trip, the Financial Times said, citing three people familiar with the situation.

There were divisions in the US administration over whether Pelosi should visit Taiwan, the paper quoted two sources as saying.

Some officials believed it had been easier to justify a visit in April, as that was just after the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it added.

China sent fighters across the Taiwan Strait this month in what the latter described as a provocation. The incident came during a visit to Taipei by US senator Rick Scott, a senior Republican and member of the Senate’s Armed Services Committee.

News of Pelosi’s August visit comes after China asked the US on Monday to immediately cancel a potential sale of military technical assistance to Taiwan worth an estimated US$108 million.