DAVID AND GOLIATH WRESTLE IN EAST ASIA

Saro Thiruppathy discusses Nancy Pelosi’s recent visit to Taiwan in spite of China’s fury that erupted before, during and after her stopover

Nancy Pelosi is the Speaker of the US House of Representatives and at 82, the third most powerful person in the US – and she is no shy violet. When Pelosi announced that she planned to visit Taiwan in August, the White House was not in favour because of China’s predictable reaction.

But she was adamant and took off on a tour of Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and the forbidden territory of Taiwan. As expected, China was livid, and Beijing threatened a rain of fire and brimstone over Pelosi and Taiwan, and continued to hyperventilate throughout her visit.

SHEER DETERMINATION What’s amazing is that this octogenarian had the guts to fly right into the storm and not flinch. She stared eye-ball to eyeball with China’s military power and didn’t blink. Beijing couldn’t believe that this solitary woman could challenge the might of the mainland on its own doorstep and hope to get away with it. But that’s what happened.

A week before her visit, Chinese President Xi Jinping had spoken with US President Joe Biden for two hours on the phone and demanded that Pelosi cancels her plans to travel to Taiwan. Though Biden wasn’t in favour of antagonising the Chinese, he was not in a position to demand that Pelosi does anything that doesn’t suit her agenda. After all, she is second in line to the Oval Office and the White House doesn’t interfere with Congress.

Meanwhile, the US Navy had sent three warships to conduct ‘routine operations’ in the waters east of Taiwan. And this contingent comprised the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, a destroyer and an amphibious assault ship.

CHINA’S RETALIATION In res­ponse, the Chinese conducted a series of military drills that included four days of live fire exercises, anti-submarine attacks and sea raid rehearsals. And politically, China’s Taiwan Affairs office refused to rule out the use of force to retake the island.

Even as Pelosi was packing her travel kit, spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry Zhao Lijian declared that the military would not sit by idly if she went ahead with her plans to drop in on Taipei.

He warned that this visit by the “No. 3 official of the US government” would “lead to an egregious political impact.” But apparently, Pelosi is made of sterner stuff because she went ahead with her plans and did what she wanted to do.

Beijing’s eruption of rage is because it considers Taiwan to be part of China though Taipei begs to differ.

The history of Taiwan is extremely lengthy and complex, and it isn’t the focus of this column. But in a nutshell, Taipei and the mainland began having problems in 1949 when Chinese nationalists fled to Taiwan to avoid the civil war with Mao Zedong’s communist forces.

STRATEGIC AMBIGUITY Though the United States does recognise Beijing as the legitimate Chinese government and doesn’t support Taiwanese independence, it continues to maintain informal ties with Taipei under a policy of ‘strategic ambiguity.’

The Taiwan Travel Act of 2018 made US-Taiwan relations official but below the level of formal diplomatic ties. Nevertheless, though there are no formal ties with Taipei, there are de facto diplomatic ties – and the US is its most valuable foreign backer and arms supplier.

In an op-ed in the Washington Post, Pelosi explains the reasons for her visit and quotes from the Taiwan Relations Act. She writes: “Our congressional delegation’s visit should be seen as an unequivocal statement that America stands with Taiwan.”

When she was leaving the island, she noted that the US’ commitment to Taiwan’s democracy was “ironclad.” Strong words, indeed!

Washington aims to stop Beijing from using military force against Taiwan. And under the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) and US constitution, Congress is empowered to decide how America will respond to a problem in the Taiwan Strait.

The US code states that “the President and the Congress shall determine, in accordance with constitutional processes, appropriate action by the United States in response to any such danger” to Taiwan.

While the US claims to support the One China policy, Pelosi’s words are not necessarily in line with such a system. In the same op-ed, she notes: “We must stand by Taiwan… It is essential that America and our allies make clear that we never give in to autocrats.”

Beijing has always considered Taiwan to be a Chinese province and not an independent political entity. The UN also doesn’t recognise Taiwan as a separate state and only 13 countries accept that it is an independent nation.

After the storm in the Taiwan Strait had all but cleared up following Pelosi’s visit, another contingent of US lawmakers visited Taipei in mid August.

And once again, China launched another series of war games in a show of strength against perceived US interference.