Nancy Pelosi's Taiwan visit amid Chinese angst to have long-lasting repercussions

New Delhi: As Nancy Pelosi arrived to a largely warm welcome in Taiwan on Tuesday night, her visit also sparked several debates across the globe as China strongly opposed military cooperation between Washington and Taipei, warning of longstanding, grave consequences for not just the self-governed island but for other countries as well. This comes as the Chinese side put strong opposition to military cooperation between US and Taipei as China considers Taiwan as its province despite decades of separate governance. Back in April, Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan had been postponed after she tested positive for COVID-19. This defence agreement between the US and Taiwan came after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the One-China principle is what underpins stability across the Taiwan Strait and warned of “ferocious storms” across the region if the principle is “arbitrarily challenged or even. The US House Speaker, along with her delegation had the distinct privilege of meeting with the President of Taiwan Tsai Ing-wen today and discussing how America and Taiwan can deepen economic ties, further strengthen the security partnership and defend shared democratic values. US House of Representatives Speaker Pelosi kicked off her Asia tour on August 1 and paid a visit to President Halimah Yacob, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan of Singapore, following which the Congressional delegation arrived in Malaysia on Tuesday as part of the second leg of their Indo-Pacific tour. Amid high tensions over Pelosi’s potential visit to Taiwan, the Chinese military announced holding live-fire naval exercises in the Taiwan Strait. The critical move came after her visit which is mainly seen to build security and economic momentum for the Indo-Pacific and is also seen as a move by the US to build pressure on China over its claim on Taiwan, responding to which the Pentagon also sent an aircraft carrier to the South China Sea. Pelosi’s visit left China heavily infuriated as the communist nation warned the US that it will “pay the price”, which is also the highest level of US visits in more than two decades. China’s Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng on Wednesday summoned US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns to protest against Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan island on Tuesday, stressing that the nature of her visit is extremely vicious and the consequence is very grave. “Chinese side will not sit idly by, he said, adding that the US must pay the price for its own mistake. “China will take necessary and resolute countermeasures and we mean what we say,” he said. Moreover, China has decided to avoid meeting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Cambodia. On the other hand, Japan on Wednesday expressed concern about Chinese military exercises around Taiwan in response to Pelosi’s visit to the self-governed island. Hiroakazu Matsuno, a top Japanese government spokesman said peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are important not only for the security of Japan but also for the world. Russia, however, supported China with whom it has forged a strong partnership in recent years and warned Washington that Pelosi’s visit puts it on a collision course with Beijing and should not be underestimated at any cost. Pelosi’s plane, the US Air Force’s Boeing C-40C-SPAR19 landed in Taiwan amid a heightened security threat from China and became the world’s most tracked aircraft. According to flight-tracking website FlightRadar24, around 320,000 users were following every move of Pelosi’s flight. Shortly after her arrival, Nancy Pelosi reaffirmed her country’s unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan’s democracy and said this trip in no way contradicts longstanding United States policy on the self-governed island. “Our Congressional delegation’s visit to Taiwan honours America’s unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan’s vibrant Democracy,” Pelosi said in a statement after arriving in Taiwan. Pelosi also expressed US solidarity with 23 million people of Taiwan in the face of the increasing threat from China. Irked by the United States’ move, China intends to conduct missile tests and live firing as part of its military operations near Taiwan, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said on Tuesday after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taipei. China on Wednesday announced to halt the exports of Natural sand to the island and announced economic sanctions and import bans on several Taiwanese companies producing pastries, baked goods and sweets. The nation also temporarily halted imports of products from multiple Taiwanese food companies, Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture (COA) confirmed, Focus Taiwan reported. During the press conference, over the US-Taiwan economic cooperation, Pelosi said that her new US legislation aimed at strengthening the American chip industry in Taiwan which will compete with China. Pelosi further said that she is here to listen and learn from Taiwanese people as to how can they come together. She also congratulated Taiwan for addressing the issue of Covid. During Pelosi’s controversial visit to Taiwan, hashtags related to Pelosi’s visit, such as “the resolve to realise national reunification is rock solid”, went viral on China’s Weibo microblogging platform. Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan came to an end on Wednesday as she departed from the self-ruled island after a short and gripping trip which raised tensions in the Taiwan Strait. 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