Welcomed by Taiwan, Pelosi Leaves Rising Tensions With China in Her Wake
“As for the specific countermeasures, what I can tell you is that they’ll include everything that should be included,” Ms. Hua said, according to People’s Daily. “The measures in question will be firm, vigorous and effective, and the U.S. side and Taiwan independence forces will continue feeling them.”
For Taiwan, and the United States military, a key question will be whether they obey Beijing’s orders to avoid the zones or test China’s resolve by sending boats and planes into them. Analysts are worried an accidental encounter in the fast-moving situation could spiral out of control.
The standoff is reminiscent of an incident in 1995 and 1996 called the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis. During that crisis, China fired live ammunition and missiles into the waters around Taiwan to signal its anger over a trip by President Lee Teng-hui to the United States and to raise pressure ahead of a presidential election. The United States, in response, sent two aircraft carrier groups to the area.
Much has changed since then. China’s military is more powerful and more emboldened under Xi Jinping. This summer, Chinese officials strongly asserted that no part of the Taiwan Strait could be considered international waters, meaning they might move to intercept and block U.S. warships sailing through the area, one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.
Within China, Beijing’s irate response found plenty of support among Chinese. The question for many posting online seemed to be whether the military exercises would sound a loud enough warning. Many wondered whether the lack of a response thus far would embolden Taiwan to formally seek independence.
“Pelosi has inaugurated a great era that naturally belongs to us,” said one widely shared comment on Weibo, a social media service. “We will take this opportunity to carry out sea and air patrols around Taiwan without any hindrance so they steadily become normalized, and unification will draw closer and closer.”
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/03/world/asia/pelosi-taiwan-china.html