Washington, July 28 (CNA) An American news broadcaster on Thursday cited sources as saying that U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi will lead a congressional delegation to Asia on Friday, with a "tentative" itinerary for Taiwan.

According to the NBC News report, the trip will include visits to Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore.

The report also cited one of the sources as saying that Pelosi's Taiwan itinerary was only listed as "tentative," and that her trip to the country currently remains unclear.

Meanwhile, the report mentioned that Pelosi has invited senior lawmakers to join her on the trip, including House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks and Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Mark Takano, who led a delegation of lawmakers to Taiwan last year, the report said.

On Wednesday, Representative Michael McCaul's office told CNA that the lawmaker had also been invited but he will not be able to make it due to other scheduling arrangements.

Pelosi's planned trip to Taiwan was first reported on July 18 by the Financial Times, which cited six people familiar with the matter as saying that the 82-year-old Democratic lawmaker is planning to lead a delegation to Taiwan in August to show support for Taipei as it faces increasing pressure from Beijing.

China, which considers Taiwan part of its territory, has expressed its strong opposition to Pelosi's rumored Taipei trip.

Bonnie Glaser, director of the Asia Program at the German Marshall Fund (GMF) of the United States, told CNA that to her knowledge, Pelosi was determined to go to Taiwan.

"I understand that Pelosi is determined to go. The momentum that has built over the past week certainly has raised the cost of a decision not to go. But I think there are still ways to postpone the trip and 'save face,'" Glaser said.

According to the GMF director, the U.S. Congress or the executive branch would need to take other measures to signal a resolve to defend U.S. interests and support Taiwan in order to not appear weak.

"It is do-able," she said.

Should the rumored trip be confirmed, Pelosi will be the first sitting U.S. House speaker to visit Taiwan since 1997, when then speaker, Newt Gingrich of the Republican party, traveled to Taipei and met with then-President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) during another period in tense cross-Taiwan Strait relations.