Nancy Pelosi: US tests Chinese limits in Taiwan straits
Photo credit Twitter Nancy Pelosi
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, August 2: Within a week of the two and a half hour long virtual summit between the US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, the US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taiwan on Tuesday evening, with the world glued to Beijing launching air and ground sabre rattling.
Pelosi is a democracy icon, and her video holding a pro-democracy flag at the Tiananmen Square had been making rounds on the social media before she hopped on to her Asian tour on Monday.
Jinping had warned Biden not to play with fire even while the US, since the Tokyo Quad Summit, had begun showing keen interest in the Indo-Pacific to counter the influence of Beijing.
But the US wasn’t deterred and its Air Force Plane, which was most tracked in the world on Tuesday evening, brought Pelosi to Taiwan, apparently from Philippines.
China left no stone unturned to scare the US, with its Foreign Minister Wang Yi issuing a stern warning on Tuesday, telling Washington not to play with fire, and that there will be severe consequences.
“USA was committed to the (Pelosi) visit. Any going back will hurt its image in Taiwan and (with) other allies in Asia,” former diplomat Shashank told The Raisina Hill.
Indeed, the US seemingly has made the calculations, singling out China for blunting the western sanctions against Russia, which were imposed following the invasion of Ukraine.
China had established diplomatic relations with the world community on the condition that the countries would affirm to ‘One China Policy’.
Taiwan is a self-ruled peninsula that China claims to be its integral part.
The US is committed to provide defence to the East Asian countries in line with the legacy of the Second World War, and consequently four of its warships, including USS Ronald Eagan, are deployed in the close vicinity of Taiwan.
“By traveling to Taiwan, we honor our commitment to democracy: reaffirming that the freedoms of Taiwan — and all democracies — must be respected. Our delegation’s visit to Taiwan honors America’s unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan’s vibrant Democracy,” Pelosi said in a series of tweets released after she landed in Taiwan.
She stated “our discussions with Taiwan leadership reaffirm our support for our partner and promote our shared interests, including advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific region”.
“Our visit is one of several Congressional delegations to Taiwan – and it in no way contradicts longstanding United States policy, guided by the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, U.S.-China Joint Communiques and the Six Assurances,” she added.
But the world order is imploding, and the Cold War Era has suddenly become alive. There is nothing impossible anywhere on the world map.
The UN Charter that the countries would abide by the rules-based order has been given a silent burial by Russia and China.
Beijing has been on an expansionist path, slicing away the territories of India, Nepal, Bhutan, while being an aggressor in the South China Seat.
Besides, China has been usurping the key strategic assets in several countries such as Sri Lanka by luring regimes there to take unpayable costly debt.
History tells that the US has always benefited from wars, and it may not be browbeaten by Beijing.
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