And so Nancy Pelosi’s visit turned into a potentially dangerous American-Chinese confrontation. The leadership in Beijing considers Taiwan to be part of the People’s Republic. If the island and its 24 million people and its democratically elected government wanted to officially declare their independence, that would be cause for war for Beijing.
China’s Foreign Ministry has accused Washington of “playing with fire” in relation to Pelois’ visit. “Whoever plays with fire will die,” the ministry in Beijing said. He echoed the statement made by Chinese head of state and party leader Xi Jinping in a phone call to US President Joe Biden last week.
“China’s People’s Liberation Army is on high alert and will respond with a series of targeted military actions,” a Defense Ministry spokesman said late on Tuesday. The maneuvers served as “a serious deterrent to the recent escalation of negative US moves on the Taiwan issue and a stern warning to pro-independence forces seeking secession,” the spokesman said. It is about repelling “interference by foreign forces and separatist attempts by independence forces in Taiwan”.
Head of State Xi Jinping is pursuing the goal of completely reuniting the island with the People’s Republic. Under enormous diplomatic pressure, China began to isolate Taiwan in international organizations. A tactic that worked: only 13 states and the Vatican recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state. Politicians who dare to visit the island face sanctions.
A pressure that, in turn, the United States, Taiwan’s military allies, does not accept: “We will not be intimidated,” said US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, dismissing Beijing’s rumors. At the same time, US President Joe Biden put on the brakes: he conveyed to President Pelosi the US military’s concerns “that now may not be the best time to visit Taiwan”.
However, Beijing sees this as a setup: Pelosi could never have flown to Taiwan without the consent of the US leadership, she was given a massive escort by the US Department of Defense.
And so China sees its assumptions confirmed once again: the US has used Taiwan and prepared the island for independence in order to stem the rise of its unloved rival, China. Security spokesman Kirby re-emphasized on Tuesday: “We do not support Taiwan’s independence.”
But skepticism runs deep in Beijing – and not just since US President Biden declared three times that the US would intervene militarily in the event of a Chinese attack on Taiwan. The consequences would be: unpredictably catastrophic