Pelosi angered China, but Taiwan, not U.S.A., could pay the highest price

In turn, a host of government and political bodies issued statements condemning the visit and warning of “its serious impact” on US-Chinese relations, while China's military said it would immediately launch “air and naval exercise” and published a plan for exercises surrounding the island in the coming days.

Pelosi's visit to Asia, the first by a high-ranking American lawmaker in the last 25 years, was viewed by Beijing as a “major political provocation” and a challenge to China's sovereignty. China's ruling Communist Party claims Taiwan's self-government democracy is its own, despite never controlling it.

Despite Beijing's objections, Pelosi and a delegation of Congress began a series of high profile meetings in Taiwan's legislature and in the office of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, where the California Democrat said her delegation came to send a clear “ ” that “Amer stays with Taiwan”.

We want Taiwan to always have freedom with certainty and we are not pulling out of this,” said Pelosi, praising the courage of the Taiwanese people to support democracy.

Peloss' challenge to China's warnings not to visit the island may have exacerbated US-Kina relations, but analysts say the party will likely end up feeling the main burden of Beijing pressure is not the United States, but Taiwan, writes CNN, translates Periscope.

Directly Training

Beijing wasted no time in making his displeasure clear on the visit by Nancy Pelosi.

China's military will conduct exercises around Taiwan and launch a series of <x0 military operations intended to counter the” situation, according to statements issued by the Eastern Theatre Command and the Defence Ministry on Tuesday.

An official map showing the location of some of these planned exercises originally set to take place from Thursday to Sunday suggests they are closer to the island than previous exercises and even violate Taiwan's territorial waters. Analysts say it shows they are an escalation from previous threats used by Beijing against Taiwan.

The map shows that the exercises will surround the island more fully than previous exercises, including military training areas and missile crash areas during a major crisis in Taiwan's Strait in the mid-1990s.

With these exercises, China “has gone far beyond ever before”, according to Carl Schuster, a former U.S. Navy captain and director of operations at the Joint Intelligence Centre of the US Pacific Command.

The geopolitical signal being sent is that China can close Taiwan's air and sea access whenever it wants, he said.

Taiwan's Defence Ministry at a press conference Wednesday called the plan equal to a <x0-blocked maritime and air blockade” that “would threaten international waterways, challenge international order, undermine the status quo between the straits and jeopardise regional security”.

But how significant the exercise would ultimately depend on what will happen in the coming days, according to political scientist Chong Ian from the National University of Singapore, who said many were at risk for the image of China both inside and abroad.

“Pejkin (d) wants to scale things in a way that cannot control. At the same time, he cannot send a signal that looks very weak,” said Chong, noting that the latter would have internal consequences for Chinese leader Xi Jinping and potentially impact on Beijing's ability “to make other regional states follow its” line.

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But even as China begins its response, Peloss' crackdown on Taipei and the timing of its high profile meetings Wednesday marked a major obstacle to Beijing, which for days had sought to prevent its journey with threats of revenge and warnings of passing a 20-x0-line red”. .”

And disappointment over the failure of these threats was evident in several circles in China.

However, Hu Xijin, a political expert and former editor-in-chief of the state nationalist Global Times painting, who had warned of Chinese military vengeance against The US prior to Peloss' trip tried to ease any disappointments.

“Pelos landed in Taiwan, which naturally reflects that our preventative power is not enough to stop its early offensive,” wrote Hu in a post in his verified account at Weibo on Wednesday.

But if you're very frustrated because of this, thinking we've got “lost” and we've come up with a “down the new national”, then it's a little bit exaggerated. Some individuals may think so, but we should not have such collective vulnerability. “he said.

Peloss' visit came at an especially sensitive time for China, as Xi, the country's most powerful leader in decades, is preparing to break conventions and seek a third term at the Communist Party's 20th Congress this fall. And this raises the risk of China's failure to remove the speaker from the visit, analysts say.

The “Kinnes tried to use the crackdown on the saber and use rhetorical warfare to prevent Pelosi's travel and they exceeded their threats, said Yun Sun, director of China's Stimson Center Programme in Washington, pointing to the rhetoric in China's public Sphera on possible actions, such as the lack of flight zones or even surveillance of Pelosi aircraft.

“Now Pelosi decided to make the trip and that leaves the Chinese hanging, because they can't really turn it in,” she said.

This reveals the “enough problems” in China's foreign policy, “that they think sword knock is enough to get what they want, but the cost of this is their credibility in the future,” she said.

And while the situation was unlikely to affect Xi's movement in a third mandate, the visit, especially after his call with US President Joe Biden last week, in which the Chinese leader warned the US not to fire “for the Taiwan issue. , was a “big” inside the country, Sun said.

The Effects on Taiwan

But while Beijing's anger was directed to the US speaker, whom Chinese officials accused of “conscious and ill will” provoked a “crisis” analysts said Taiwan would feel the key weight of its rage.

Planned military exercises, aimed at <x0 use Taiwan”, are likely to be followed with continuous action in Taiwan's Strait, according to the Sun.

Peloss' “will actually lead to a new escalation of Taiwan's military tribulation in the foreseeable future. This punishment is the key to Chinese response at this point, because it cannot punish the United States,”, she said.

Taiwan will also be punished with an economic punishment for its actions, with China's Taiwan Issues Office on Wednesday announcing a suspension of the import of several fruits of agrums and sea products from the island. Chinese customs in a separate statement linked suspensions to hygiene concerns, but it is not the first time China bans Taiwanese products amid escalating tensions.

China's Trade Ministry also announced on Wednesday that it would immediately suspend its natural sand exports to Taiwan, a key component for the production of semi-compliance chips a move the Taiwan Mine Bureau said would have a limited “ ” effect.

And in the face of China's plans for military exercises, Taiwan's Marine and Portal Bureau also issued three reports Wednesday, urging ships to use alternative routes for seven ports around the island.

Taiwan also began negotiations with neighbouring Japan and the Philippines to find alternative aviation routes to avoid Chinese assets.

Pelosi left the island on Wednesday, leaving Taiwan defiantly under even greater pressure as China vents its rage.

When asked during a conference in Beijing whether the suspension of exports was intended to punish Taiwan for Peloss' visit, China's Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister Hua Cunnying refused to comment on specific trade actions, but said that “one thing is safe here”.

The US and Taiwan separatist forces must take responsibility and pay the price for mistakes they made,” she said. / CNN/PERISCOP/