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Funny weekend where experts and geopolitical enthusiasts tried to predict a peak in global tension by following the path of an American Boeing live on the Internet. Will the plane of Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, stop in Taiwan during a trip including visits to several Asian countries this week? And if so, how will the Chinese military react?
Monday 1is August morning, Nancy Pelosi’s aircraft landed in Singapore. She specified the contours of the visit of the delegation of American parliamentarians: in addition to Singapore, she plans to visit Malaysia, South Korea and Japan. Without mentioning Taiwan, which meant leaving open the possibility of a stage in Taipei.
“The trip will be devoted to mutual security, economic partnership and democratic governance in the Indo-Pacific region”says the press release from his team, published on Sunday, July 31.
The project to go to Taiwan, revealed by the Financial Times July 18, is particularly sensitive, and Mme Pelosi had so far avoided confirming or denying it, for security reasons. Beijing considers Taiwan, an independent island of 23 million inhabitants, as a rebel province that should be reconquered. On Saturday July 30, China began live ammunition military exercises in the Taiwan Strait.
Beijing seeks to isolate Taiwan by all means
China repeats its warnings: a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has promised ” consequences “. Thursday, July 28, during a videoconference conversation between the Chinese and American presidents, Xi Jinping warned Joe Biden without mincing his words: “Those who play with fire risk burning themselves to death. » The American president replied that the American position on Taiwan was unchanged. “The United States strongly opposes unilateral efforts to change the status quo and undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. »
The problem is that this status quo is ambiguous, and that it changes over time. The situation of the “Republic of China”, the official name of Taiwan, is a hangover from the flight of the nationalists to the island in 1949 after their defeat against the Communists of Mao Zedong. Most states only officially recognize Beijing, but maintain informal relations with Taipei. Visits from parliamentarians to parliamentarians are common, systematically prompting Chinese protests.
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