WASHINGTON: US-China relations are teetering on a precipice after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.
Pelosi received a rapturous welcome in Taipei and was applauded with strong bipartisan support in Washington, despite the Biden administration's misgivings.
But her trip has enraged Beijing and Chinese nationalists and will complicate already strained ties even after her departure.
Already, China is preparing new shows of force in the Taiwan Strait to make clear that its claims are non-negotiable on the island it regards as a renegade province.
And, as the U.S. presses ahead with demonstrations of support for Taiwan, arms sales and diplomatic lobbying, the escalating tensions have raised the risks of military confrontation, intentional or not.
And the trip could further muddle Washington's already complicated relationship with Beijing as the two sides wrest with differences over trade, the war in Ukraine, human rights and more.
Wary of the reaction from China, the Biden administration discouraged but did not prevent Pelosi from visiting Taiwan.
It has taken pains to stress to Beijing that the House speaker is not a member of the executive branch and her visit represents no change in the U.S. "one-China" policy.
That was little comfort for Beijing.
Pelosi, who is second in line to the U.S. presidency, was no ordinary visitor and was greeted almost like a head of state.
Taiwan's skyline lit up with a message of welcome, and she met with the biggest names on the island, including its president, senior legislators and prominent rights activists.
Chinese officials were enraged.
"What Pelosi has done is definitely not a defense and maintenance of democracy, but a provocation and violation of China's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said after her departure.
"Pelosi's dangerous provocation is purely for personal political capital, which is an absolute ugly political farce," Hua said.
"China-US relations and regional peace and stability is suffering."
The timing of the visit may have added to the tensions.
It came ahead of this year's Chinese Communist Party's Congress at which President Xi Jinping will try to further cement his power, using a hard line on Taiwan to blunt domestic criticism on COVID-19, the economy and other issues.
Summoned to the Foreign Ministry to hear China's complaints, U.S. Ambassador Nicholas Burns insisted that the visit was nothing but routine.
"The United States will not escalate and stands ready to work with China to prevent escalation altogether," Burns said, according to the State Department.
The White House also said that Pelosi's visit "doesn't change anything" about the U.S.posture toward China and Taiwan.
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the U.S. had expected the harsh reaction from China, even as she called it unwarranted.
"We are going to monitor, and we will manage what Beijing chooses to do," she added.
Alarmed by the possibility of a new geo-strategic conflict at the same time the West sides with Ukraine in its resistance to Russia's invasion, the U.S. has rallied allies to its side.
The foreign ministers of the Group of 7 industrialized democracies released a statement Wednesday essentially telling China, by the initials of its formal name, the People's Republic of China, to calm down.
"It is normal and routine for legislators from our countries to travel internationally," the G-7 ministers said.
"The PRC's escalatory response risks increasing tensions and destabilizing the region. We call on the PRC not to unilaterally change the status quo by force in the region, and to resolve cross-Strait differences by peaceful means."
Still, that status quo, long identified as "strategic ambiguity" for the U.S. and quiet but determined Chinese opposition to any figment of Taiwanese independence, appears to be no longer tenable for either side.
"It's getting harder and harder to agree on Taiwan for both Beijing and Washington," said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, an emeritus professor at Hong Kong Baptist University.
In Taipei and the U.S. Congress, moves are afoot to clarify the ambiguity that has defined U.S. relations with Taiwan since the 1970s.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will soon consider a bill that would strengthen relations, require the executive branch to do more to bring Taiwan into the international system and take more determined steps to help the island defend itself.
Writing in The New York Times, committee Chairman Robert Menendez, D-N.J., lambasted China's response to Pelosi's visit.
"The result of Beijing's bluster should be to stiffen resolve in Taipei, in Washington and across the region," he said.
"There are many strategies to continue standing up to Chinese aggression. There is clear bipartisan congressional agreement on the importance of acting now to provide the people of Taiwan with the type of support they desperately need."
But China appears to be pressing ahead with steps that could prove to be escalatory, including live-fire military exercises planned for this week and a steady uptick in flights of fighter jets in and near Taiwan's self-declared air defense zone.
"They are going to test the Taiwanese and the Americans," said Cabestan, the professor in Hong Kong.
He said the actions of the U.S.military in the area, including a naval force led by the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, will be critical.
China had ratcheted up potential confrontation weeks ago by declaring that the Taiwan Strait that separates the island from the mainland is not international waters.
The U.S. rejected this and responded to by sending more vessels through it.
Cabestan said that showed that "something had to be done on the U.S. side to draw red lines to prevent the Chinese from going too far."
Meanwhile, Taiwan is on edge, air raid shelters have been prepared and the government is increasing training for recruits serving their four months of required military service, generally considered inadequate, along with annual two-week annual refresher courses for reservists.
"The Chinese feel that if they don't act, that the United States is going to continue to slice the salami to take incremental actions toward supporting Taiwan independence," said Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at the Asia Program at the German Marshall Fund.
She said that domestic U.S. support for Taiwan actually gives China added incentive to take a strong stance: "China does feel under pressure to do more to signal that this is an issue in which China cannot compromise."
Despite the immediate concerns about escalation and potential miscalculation, there are others who don't believe the damage to U.S.-China ties will be more long-lasting than that caused by other, non-Taiwan-related issues.
China is "going to raise a huge fuss and there will be military exercises and there will be embargoes on importing Taiwan goods. And after the shouting is over, you will see a gradual easing," said June Teufel Dreyer, a Chinese politics specialist at the University of Miami.
"The situation never goes back to completely normal, whatever normal is, but it will definitely die down," she said.
Smarting from the successful visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taipei, the Chinese military on Wednesday conducted a series of naval-air joint drills around Taiwan amid speculation that it may be attempting a blockade of the self-ruled island.
The drills featured the Navy, Air Force, Rocket Force, Strategic Support Force and Joint Logistic Support Force in the sea and air space north, southwest and southeast of the Taiwan island, the Eastern Theatre Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) said.
The PLA will also conduct live-fire military drills from August 4 to 7 in six different areas that encircle the island of Taiwan from all directions, official media reports said.
China has intensified the drills as Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday, disregarding intense rhetoric from China against the visit to the island, which Beijing claims as part of it and vows to integrate with the mainland, even by force.
PLA drills around Taiwan will continue to rehearse reunification operations and the exercises to blockade the island will become routine, state-run Global Times reported.
Pelosi, who is the third highest official in the US, arrived in Taiwan by a US Air Force jet amid intense speculation about adverse actions by Beijing.
The visit of Pelosi is the first by a top US leader to Taiwan in 25 years.
Responding to China's threats Taiwanese President Tsai-Ing-wen said Taiwan will respond firmly to Beijing's military intimidation.
Facing deliberately heightened military threats, Taiwan will not back down, Tsai said at her meeting with Pelosi on Wednesday.
"We will firmly uphold our nation's sovereignty and continue to hold the line of defence for democracy," the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post quoted her as saying.
Military experts said the PLA could send drones over Taiwan and conduct regular drills in the coming weeks to vent its anger over Pelosi's visit.
The exercises are unprecedented as the PLA conventional missiles are expected to fly over the island of Taiwan for the first time, the PLA forces will enter an area within 12 nautical miles of the island and that the so-called median line will cease to exist, the Global Times quoted Chinese experts as saying.
The experts also noted that by surrounding Taiwan entirely, the PLA is completely blockading the island, demonstrating the Chinese mainland's absolute control over the Taiwan question.
One analyst described the prospect of unprecedented PLA unmanned aircraft flights over the island as possible, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.
Fu Qianshao, a retired equipment expert from the PLA Air Force, said that given their proximity to Taiwan, the large-scale drills would be a blockade of the island and marked a breakthrough in Beijing's military actions against the island in terms of location and intensity.
He told the Post that the PLA would also respond to any possible move by the US and Taiwanese air forces in those areas, with Thursday's drills showing for the first time that Beijing did not recognise Taiwan's territorial waters.
An infuriated China on Wednesday vowed to take "strong and resolute" countermeasures against the US and Taiwan for violating the one-China principle, as US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi successfully completed her high-profile visit to Taipei disregarding Beijing's threatening statements and live-fire military drills.
China views Taiwan as part of its territory, despite having never controlled it and has long vowed to reunify the island with the Chinese mainland, by force if necessary.
Pelosi's trip to Taiwan, the first by a sitting US Speaker in 25 years, has angered China.
As the 82-year-old top Democrat left Taiwan, there were already signs of the strains her visit to Taipei had placed on Washington's testy relationship with Beijing -- which warned the Biden administration that her trip would have a "severe impact on the political foundation of China-US relations.
" "We will do what we have said.
Please have some patience," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying told a media briefing here while responding to questions on what more actions China could take apart from lodging diplomatic protests with the US, conducting military exercises around the Taiwan island and banning some food imports from Taipei.
"We will do what we say. These measures will be strong, effective and resolute," Hua, who is also the Assistant Chinese Foreign Minister, said to a question whether China plans to impose sanctions against Pelosi as well as Taiwan leaders like President Tsai Ing-wen.
Pelosi's successful visit to Taiwan has left questions about the efficacy of Beijing's high-voltage rhetoric ahead of her visit as it added more pressure to act after she left the island.
Pelosi arrived on Tuesday night by a US Air Force jet to Taipei amid intense speculation about adverse actions by Beijing.
Interestingly, her delegation included Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, who is a Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Pelosi left Taipei on Wednesday amid the glare of international publicity and leaving a trail of anger and bitterness in China.
"Today the world faces a choice between democracy and autocracy," Pelosi said during a meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai.
"America's determination to preserve democracy, here in Taiwan and around the world, remains ironclad," she said.
Responding to China's threats, President Tsai said Taiwan will respond firmly to Beijing's military intimidation.
In Washington, the White House on Tuesday slammed China for its recent actions and statements and charged that Beijing is using the trip as a pretext to increase its aggressive behaviour.
"There's no reason for Beijing to turn this visit, which is consistent with longstanding US policy into some sort of crisis or use it as a pretext to increase aggressiveness and military activity in or around the Taiwan Strait now or beyond her travel," John Kirby, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications told reporters while commenting on Pelosi's visit.
Pelosi's visit is totally consistent with America's longstanding one-China policy, he said, adding that the US does not support Taiwan independence.
Observers say her successful visit to Taiwan has put pressure on Beijing as it dented the strong man image of President Xi Jinping, who in the next few months was expected to be endorsed for an unprecedented third term to continue in power for another five years or perhaps for life by the once-in-a-five-year Congress of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC).
Hua defended the drills by the Chinese military around Taiwan as well as the deployment of fighter jets in the Taiwan Straits during Pelosi's visit, saying China was compelled to act in self-defence after her visit which has violated China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The root cause of the tensions is that the Taiwan authorities have been using the strength of the US to seek Taiwan's independence, Hua said.
Pelosi concluded her visit to Taiwan on Wednesday with a pledge that the American commitment to democracy on the self-governing island and elsewhere "remains ironclad."
Pelosi was the first US House speaker to visit the island in more than 25 years, and China swiftly responded by announcing multiple military exercises nearby.
The speaker's departure for South Korea came just a day before China was scheduled to launch its largest manoeuvres aimed at Taiwan in more than a quarter of a century.
Before leaving, a calm but resolute Pelosi repeated previous remarks about the world facing a choice between democracy and autocracy.
"America's determination to preserve democracy, here in Taiwan and around the world, remains ironclad," she said in a short speech during a meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.
China claims Taiwan as its territory and opposes any engagement by Taiwanese officials with foreign governments.
The Biden administration, and Pelosi, have said that the United States remains committed to the so-called one-China policy, which recognizes Beijing but allows informal relations and defense ties with Taipei.
Nevertheless, China issued a series of harsh statements after the American delegation touched down late Tuesday in the Taiwanese capital, Taipei.
Taiwanese President Tsai pushed back firmly against Beijing's military exercises, parts of which will enter Taiwanese waters.
"Facing deliberately heightened military threats, Taiwan will not back down," Tsai said at her meeting with Pelosi.
"We will firmly uphold our nation's sovereignty and continue to hold the line of defense for democracy."
The exercises, including those involving live fire, are to start Thursday and will be the biggest aimed at Taiwan since 1995, when China fired missiles in a large-scale exercise to show its displeasure over a visit by then-Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui to the U.S.
In other activities, Pelosi visited a human rights museum in Taipei that details the history of the island's martial-law era.
She also met with some of Taiwan's most prominent rights activists, including an exiled former Hong Kong bookseller who was detained by Chinese authorities, Lam Wing-kee.
Thanking Pelosi for her decades of support for Taiwan, the president presented her with a civilian honor, the Order of the Propitious Clouds.
A day earlier, China's official Xinhua News Agency announced the military operations and showed a map outlining six different areas around Taiwan.
Arthur Zhin-Sheng Wang, a defense studies expert at Taiwan's Central Police University, said three of the areas infringe on Taiwanese waters, meaning they are within 12 nautical miles (22 kilometers) of shore.
Using live fire in a country's territorial airspace or waters is risky, Wang said, because under international rules of engagement, it can be seen as an act of war.
In Washington, John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council, sought to tamp down fears.
He told ABC's Good Morning America on Wednesday that U.
S.
officials don't believe we're at the brink now, and there's certainly no reason for anybody to be talking about being at the brink going forward.
Pelosi's trip heightened U.
S.
-China tensions more than visits by other members of Congress because of her high-level position as leader of the House of Representatives.
The last House speaker to visit Taiwan was Newt Gingrich in 1997.
China's response came on multiple fronts military, diplomatic and economic.
Shortly after Pelosi landed Tuesday night, China announced live-fire drills that reportedly started that night, as well as the four-day exercises starting Thursday.
The People's Liberation Army Air Force also flew a contingent of 21 warplanes toward Taiwan.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng summoned the U.S. ambassador in Beijing to convey the country's protests the same night.
On Wednesday, China banned some imports from Taiwan, including citrus fruit and fish.
That night, China flew an additional 27 fighter jets toward Taiwan.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said a Taiwanese citizen was detained on suspicion of inciting separatism.
Yang Chih-yuan, originally from the city of Taichung, was shown surrounded by police in a CCTV video.
Yang had been a candidate for a legislative position in New Taipei City, according to local media.
Addressing Beijing's threats, Pelosi said she hopes it's clear that while China has prevented Taiwan from attending certain international meetings, "they understand they will not stand in the way of people coming to Taiwan as a show of friendship and of support."
Pelosi noted that congressional support for Taiwan is bipartisan, and she praised the island's democracy.
She stopped short of saying that the U.
S would defend Taiwan militarily, emphasizing that Congress is "committed to the security of Taiwan, in order to have Taiwan be able to most effectively defend themselves."
Her focus has always been the same, she said, going back to her 1991 visit to Beijing's Tiananmen Square, when she and other lawmakers unfurled a small banner supporting democracy two years after a bloody military crackdown on protesters at the square.
That visit was also about human rights and what she called dangerous technology transfers to "rogue countries."
On this trip, Pelosi met with representatives from Taiwan's legislature.
The speaker's visit is the strongest defense of human rights, democratic values and freedom, Tsai Chi-chang, vice president of Taiwan's legislature, said in welcome.
Pelosi's five-member delegation included Rep.
Gregory Meeks, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep.
Raja Krishnamoorthi from the House Intelligence Committee.
Reps. Andy Kim and Mark Takano also traveled with the speaker.
She also mentioned Rep. Suzan DelBene, whom Pelosi said was instrumental in the passage of a $280 billion bill aimed at boosting American manufacturing and research in semiconductor chips an industry that Taiwan dominates and is vital for modern electronics.
Pelosi arrived Wednesday evening at a South Korean military base ahead of meetings with political leaders in Seoul, after which she will visit Japan.
Both countries are U.S. alliance partners, together hosting about 80,000 American personnel as a bulwark against North Korea's nuclear ambitions and China's increased assertiveness in the South China and East China seas.
About criticism by some that China has failed to prevent Pelosi from visiting Taiwan, Hua said the US politicians are putting up a "political stunt" for their personal gains.
As for the specific countermeasures China will be taking, the Chinese side is deeply committed to upholding its sovereignty, territorial integrity and security interests, Hua said.
"We are determined to do that, there should be no questions about that. Our countermeasures will be strong, effective and resolute," she said.
As Pelosi left Taiwan, China on Wednesday conducted a series of naval-air joint drills around the Taiwan island amid speculation that the Chinese military may attempt a blockade of the island.
The PLA will also conduct live-fire military drills from August 4 to 7 in six different areas that encircle the island of Taiwan from all directions, official media reports said.
"Joint military exercises around the island of Taiwan by the PLA continued Wednesday with a joint blockade, sea assault and land and air combat training, involving the use of advanced weapons including J-20 stealth fighter jets and DF-17 hypersonic missiles after the drills started on Tuesday evening," the Global Times reported.
Earlier, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng "urgently summoned" the US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns late Tuesday night and lodged stern representations and strong protests over Pelosi's visit.
He said the US should stop playing the "Taiwan card", stop using Taiwan to contain China in any form, and stop interfering in China's internal affairs.
Xie said that Pelosi risks universal condemnation for deliberately provoking and playing with fire, Xie said this is a serious violation of the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communique.
"There is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory," the Chinese Foreign Ministry reiterated on Tuesday.