It’s a rare thing to see Donald Trump and Joe Biden agree on something. In fact, the only thing we can think of in recent memory was their mutual warnings for Speaker Nancy Pelosi not to visit Taiwan to show US support. Now it looks like the two party leaders may have been right as China began sending jets into the island’s airspace moments after Pelosi left.
According to The Indian Express:
Following Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit, a furious China is conducting a series of military drills near the self-governed island on Thursday. Some of China’s planned military exercises were to take place within Taiwan’s 12 nautical mile sea and air territory, said a Reuters report quoting Taiwan’s defence ministry. A senior defence official described it to reporters as “amounting to a sea and air blockade of Taiwan”.
In a tense trip, US House of Representatives Speaker Pelosi landed in Taipei with her congressional delegation late on Tuesday, defying China’s repeated warnings against the visit. Pelosi pledged solidarity and hailed Taiwan’s democracy and said that the US will not abandon its commitment to the self-governing island. Speaking at an event alongside Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, Pelosi said: “Now, more than ever, America’s solidarity with Taiwan is crucial, that’s the message we bring in today.” She flew out shortly afterwards on Wednesday afternoon.
China, meanwhile, reacted sharply to the visit and summoned the American envoy in Beijing to lodge a stern protest. China’s foreign ministry said Pelosi’s visit damaged peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, harmed the political foundation of US-Chinese relations and infringed upon China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The rare meeting of the minds between Biden and Trump should have been a clear enough warning for Pelosi. Now it looks like her trip there may have given the Chinese communist government the excuse they always wanted to finally take Taiwan for their own. Why do you think she chose to visit Taiwan when she did?
