CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA ¨C U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi¡¯s arrival in Taiwan has incited a predictably strong response from China.
Chinese warplanes have brushed up against the median line dividing the Taiwan Strait. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has warned of ¡°serious consequences¡± as a result of Pelosi¡¯s visit to the island. Chinese President Xi Jinping has told U.S. President Joe Biden that ¡°those who play with fire will perish by it.¡± And now, China has just announced a major military exercise with live-fire drills starting Aug. 4 (just after Pelosi leaves Taiwan). The specter of military confrontation looms large.
But Pelosi is hardly responsible for today¡¯s heightened tensions over the island. Even if she had decided to skip Taipei on her tour of Asia, China¡¯s bellicosity toward Taiwan would have continued to intensify, possibly triggering another Taiwan Strait crisis in the near future.
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