Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, arrived in Taiwan late night this Tuesday, despite China’s repeated serious warnings against this visit. Shortly after her arrival, China announced the plan of live-fire military drills around Taiwan’s water, demonstrating Chinese military strength and setting a stage for potential conflict.
The live-fire military drills will be carried out from Thursday to Sunday in six water zones encircling Taiwan, according to the statement released from Xinhua, China’s state news agency. Some water zones are overlapping with Taiwan’s territorial waters, according to the map released from Xinhua. Ships and aircrafts are warned against trespassing in those areas for “safety reasons,” the statement said.
Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan has never been confirmed until the last moment. Her trip has been speculated for weeks in a background of menacing messages from China. Her airplane’s touchdown in Taipei makes her the highest-ranking American official to arrive at the geopolitical sensitive island in 25 years.
China has long claimed Taiwan, a self-governed island for more than seven decades, as its own territory and separated province. China has vowed to reunite with the island peacefully at a certain time and does not rule out force if necessary.
American policy toward China and Taiwan has been the best example of “strategic ambiguity”. On one hand, America adheres to One China policy, which recognizes Beijing as the sole legal government of China, on the other hand, America signed the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, which allows US to provide Taiwan with the weapons to defend itself.
To China, Pelosi’s trip is highly provocative as it violates the One China policy, China’s sovereignty, and territory. China repeatedly expressed its strong displeasure and threatened to use military force against the visit, urging American not to play with the fire to perish with it.
One day before Pelosi’s landing in Taiwan, American warned China not to use this expected trip as an excuse to create crisis and reassure China of adhering to One China policy.
“There is no reason for Beijing to turn a potential visit consistent with longstanding U.S. policy into some sort of crisis or conflict or use it as a pretext to increase aggressive military activity in or around the Taiwan Strait,” John F. Kirby, a National Security Council spokesman, told reporters. “Meanwhile,” he added, “our actions are not threatening, and they break no new ground. Nothing about this potential visit — potential visit, which oh, by the way, has precedent — would change the status quo.”
Obviously, China is not reassured. “We would like to tell the United States once again that China is standing by, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army will never sit idly by, and China will take resolute responses and strong countermeasures to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Zhao Lijian, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, told reporters. “As for what measures, if she dares to go, then let’s wait and see.”
The planned drills will be the most assertive show of Chinese military muscle strength since last Taiwan Strait crisis of 1995-1996. The military drills appear to be intended to project strength at home and abroad rather than signaling for an imminent war and invasion of the island. China’s military expansion and modernization has been dramatic and presents a conceivable threat to the island.
“They are signaling that we really don’t like this and that we want to see less of this,” said Joe McReynolds, senior China analyst at the Washington-based Center for Intelligence Research and Analysis. “They are not signaling that we are imminently about to go to war.”
“The looming Chinese military exercises would bring great pressure to the Taiwanese military,” said Chieh Chung, a security analyst with the National Policy Foundation in Taipei. “If a slight accident occurs, the low trust between both sides of the strait and the lack of experience in dealing with crises is likely to escalate the tensions, and lead to irreversible consequences.”
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/01/us/politics/taiwan-pelosi.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/01/world/asia/china-taiwan-pelosi.html?searchResultPosition=7
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/02/world/asia/china-taiwan-pelosi.html
The live-fire military drills will be carried out from Thursday to Sunday in six water zones encircling Taiwan, according to the statement released from Xinhua, China’s state news agency. Some water zones are overlapping with Taiwan’s territorial waters, according to the map released from Xinhua. Ships and aircrafts are warned against trespassing in those areas for “safety reasons,” the statement said.
Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan has never been confirmed until the last moment. Her trip has been speculated for weeks in a background of menacing messages from China. Her airplane’s touchdown in Taipei makes her the highest-ranking American official to arrive at the geopolitical sensitive island in 25 years.
China has long claimed Taiwan, a self-governed island for more than seven decades, as its own territory and separated province. China has vowed to reunite with the island peacefully at a certain time and does not rule out force if necessary.
American policy toward China and Taiwan has been the best example of “strategic ambiguity”. On one hand, America adheres to One China policy, which recognizes Beijing as the sole legal government of China, on the other hand, America signed the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, which allows US to provide Taiwan with the weapons to defend itself.
To China, Pelosi’s trip is highly provocative as it violates the One China policy, China’s sovereignty, and territory. China repeatedly expressed its strong displeasure and threatened to use military force against the visit, urging American not to play with the fire to perish with it.
One day before Pelosi’s landing in Taiwan, American warned China not to use this expected trip as an excuse to create crisis and reassure China of adhering to One China policy.
“There is no reason for Beijing to turn a potential visit consistent with longstanding U.S. policy into some sort of crisis or conflict or use it as a pretext to increase aggressive military activity in or around the Taiwan Strait,” John F. Kirby, a National Security Council spokesman, told reporters. “Meanwhile,” he added, “our actions are not threatening, and they break no new ground. Nothing about this potential visit — potential visit, which oh, by the way, has precedent — would change the status quo.”
Obviously, China is not reassured. “We would like to tell the United States once again that China is standing by, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army will never sit idly by, and China will take resolute responses and strong countermeasures to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Zhao Lijian, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, told reporters. “As for what measures, if she dares to go, then let’s wait and see.”
The planned drills will be the most assertive show of Chinese military muscle strength since last Taiwan Strait crisis of 1995-1996. The military drills appear to be intended to project strength at home and abroad rather than signaling for an imminent war and invasion of the island. China’s military expansion and modernization has been dramatic and presents a conceivable threat to the island.
“They are signaling that we really don’t like this and that we want to see less of this,” said Joe McReynolds, senior China analyst at the Washington-based Center for Intelligence Research and Analysis. “They are not signaling that we are imminently about to go to war.”
“The looming Chinese military exercises would bring great pressure to the Taiwanese military,” said Chieh Chung, a security analyst with the National Policy Foundation in Taipei. “If a slight accident occurs, the low trust between both sides of the strait and the lack of experience in dealing with crises is likely to escalate the tensions, and lead to irreversible consequences.”
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/01/us/politics/taiwan-pelosi.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/01/world/asia/china-taiwan-pelosi.html?searchResultPosition=7
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/02/world/asia/china-taiwan-pelosi.html
