US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reaches Taiwan defying the Chinese thr

Taipei: The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs threatened that China would not keep quiet if US Senate Speaker Nancy Pelosi entered Taiwan. The Chinese official mouthpiece threatened to go to war with Taiwan and the United States over this issue and to shoot down Pelosi’s plane. Despite Chinese threats, Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday night. Infuriated by this, China announced the closure of the Taiwan Strait and conducted military exercises in six locations around Taiwan. Analysts say that Chinese activities are only a façade. However, this time the United States has directly challenged China through Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.

After visiting Singapore and Malaysia, Nancy Pelosi left for Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. Her plane was escorted by six F-16s of the Taiwanese Air Force. Moreover, the people of Taiwan are rejoicing as one of the senior US leaders is visiting Taiwan after almost 25 years. At the same time, reports of thorough Taiwanese military preparations, given the possible threat from China, are appearing in the international media. This makes it clear that the Taiwanese air defence system, fighter jets and tanks are also ready to respond to any Chinese attack.

After informing Pelosi’s plan to visit Taipei, China sent its fighter jets near Taiwanese airspace. China has expressed its displeasure by conducting exercises at six places near Taiwan. At a diplomatic level, China has announced that its Foreign Minister would not meet the US Secretary of State at the East Asia Summit to be held in Vietnam. The Chinese Foreign Minister said that a visit by US leaders to Taiwan violates the One China Policy, which China will never tolerate. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi threatened the US with strong retaliation.

The Global Times, a Chinese mouthpiece, said that the Chinese military would respond aggressively to Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. Claims were made on Chinese social media that Chinese and Taiwanese fighter jets had clashed, but Taiwan has quashed these claims. Analysts suggest that China will refrain from any military action on the US despite the fury of words, instead opt for actions like economic and political sanctions against the US and Taiwan. China will not decide to attack Taiwan as well, as it could indirectly challenge the US. Some analysts have also pointed out that since the third term of Chinese President Xi Jinping is soon approaching, it would compel him to take aggressive and tough decisions on Taiwan for his political future.