THEO VAN GOGH Daily News Brief – ANALYSIS – Pelosi’s Taiwan Visit Raises U.S. Tensions With China / RELEVANT SOURCES
August 3, 2022
 
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi became the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Taiwan (WSJ) since 1997. Meeting with Taiwanese lawmakers and President Tsai Ing-wen, Pelosi said the U.S. commitment to preserve Taiwan’s democracy remains “ironclad.” She also met with the head of one of the world’s largest chip producers, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, as part of the United States’ efforts to secure its semiconductor supply chain.

Beijing condemned the visit, arguing that it violated China’s sovereignty and pledging unspecified consequences. China’s military will begin exercises tomorrow that will effectively encircle Taiwan and encroach further into Taiwan-claimed waters than any previous drills. Beijing also imposed (SCMP) new trade restrictions on the island, including import bans on fish and fruit. The White House reiterated that U.S. policy on Taiwan has not changed, while some of Washington’s allies in the Asia-Pacific urged de-escalation (NYT).

 

Analysis

 

“In recent years, China has become bolder in its coercive military maneuvers: look no further than its near-daily incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone. To send a message, China will now have to do something that rises significantly above that kind of baiting, which means its options are increasingly escalatory,” CFR’s David Sacks writes for Foreign Affairs.

“The coming period may be bumpy. It will be important for officials to remain in direct contact, for each side to exercise discipline, and focus on preserving peace and stability in [the] Taiwan Strait. Smarts, not flexes of strength, will be needed to navigate this period,” the Brookings Institution’s Ryan Hass tweets.

 

On The President’s Inbox podcast, the German Marshall Fund of the United States’ Bonnie S. Glaser discusses Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.