Just a year ago, China launched massive live-fire drills to protest Nancy Pelosi¡¯s visit to Taiwan, the first by a U.S. House Speaker since 1997.
In one sense, the military exercises represented a failure for China¡¯s ruling Communist Party (CCP), which could not browbeat the hardy Pelosi into canceling her trip. The then-House speaker kept a high profile during her visit, appearing on live television with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and lauding the island¡¯s democracy.
Yet the Pelosi visit also allowed China to display its growing martial might. It was not the prelude to an invasion ¡ª as some in the Beltway feared ¡ª or even a dress rehearsal for one. Rather, Pelosi¡¯s visit marked an inflection point after which China sharply escalated its gray-zone military operations near Taiwan, eroding the island¡¯s security even as the U.S. has sought to address Taiwan¡¯s defense shortcomings both through arms sales and closer cooperation with its Indo-Pacific allies.
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