THE Taiwan Strait is thus far one of the most sensitive issues for China-US relations. The rising tension, the brewing hot war atmosphere between China and the United States, and the potential military confrontation between the two superpowers seem almost inevitable.
The saber-rattling in the Taiwan Strait has been triggered by the recent visit to Taiwan by the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi last 2 August 2022, despite the strong and serious opposition from the Chinese government and the Chinese people.
As a defensive posture, China of course has protested and is very much opposed to such official interactions between the US and Taiwan for it undermines China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The recent visit of Pelosi to Taiwan was indeed a glaring and deep-seated irritant, a strong provocation akin to the “salami strategy” (divide and conquer) on the part of the US. The Pelosi visit to Taiwan has no doubt amplified the brewing feverish atmosphere and volatile situation in the Taiwan Strait.
As expected, China did not and will not sit idly while its sovereign and territorial integrity is being undermined and challenged by the United States and the likes of Pelosi.
The Taiwan issue is one of the red flags in China and the whole world should know that by now.
The impertinence, hubris, and arrogance of Pelosi to even set foot in Taiwan despite strong opposition from the Chinese government and the Chinese people is but an epitome of US disregard and disrespect for other countries’ sovereignty as long as it is favorable and suits their hegemonic interests.
This is a classic US imperialism and exceptionalism that the world has had to contend with since time immemorial.
‘One-China Principle’
As far as the People’s Republic of China (PROC) is concerned, the visit of Pelosi is a
serious violation of the One-China Principle and the provisions of the three China-U.S. joint communiqués.
Accordingly, the visit of Pelosi has a severe impact on the political foundation of China-U.S. relations and seriously infringes upon China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It gravely undermines peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and sends a seriously wrong signal to the separatist forces for “Taiwan independence.”
China firmly opposes and sternly condemns this, and has made serious démarche and strong protests against the United States.
To note, the One-China principle, a position held by the PRC that there is only one sovereign state under the name China, with the People’s Republic of China (PROC) serving as the sole legitimate government of that China, and Taiwan is a part of China, is a basic norm governing international relations, one of the bedrocks of international law, and an integral part of the post-Second World War international order.
The One-China principle is recognized by the United Nations and 181 countries including the US. While Taiwan’s so-called “independence” is recognized by less than two dozen countries across the globe.
Responsible Superpower
Indeed, the recent visit of Pelosi to Taiwan has no doubt put the Taiwan Strait in a new round of tensions and severe challenges, and the underlying reason is the reckless, irresponsible, and provocative adventurism not only of Pelosi and her cohorts but even of the US and Taiwan authorities.
Such an irresponsible move on the part of Pelosi, the Taiwan authorities, and the US deserves condemnation for it puts the whole world on a brink of another world war.
The rising tension between the US and China due to Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan despite China’s expressed strong opposition is a provocation vis-à-vis China in the strongest sense.
The visit of Pelosi to Taiwan has challenged the bottom line and the red line of China while undermining China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity over Taiwan, a ‘renegade’ province of China.
This heedless move on the part of Pelosi has changed the trajectory and the political atmosphere at the Taiwan Strait, affecting regional countries like the Philippines, geopolitically speaking.
The recent visit of Pelosi to Taiwan is an emblem of disrespect and disregard for the principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity and non-interference in each country’s internal affairs and a breach of the norms of international relations/law and interference in China’s internal affairs. This is a glaring fact.
But thank goodness, China is a responsible superpower and did not take the bait of the US. Rather, it exercised strong restraint, self-control, and self-discipline.
China responded to the provocative visit of Pelosi to Taiwan in a more targeted and calculated manner despite the surmountable pressures that did not end up in World War III.
Such action on the part of China is indeed commendable. It only goes to show that China is a responsible superpower that exercised strong restraint and takes into consideration the plight of regional countries like the Philippines, a country that surely will be affected if a military confrontation breaks out in the Taiwan Strait between itself and the US.
This only goes to show that China puts premium and importance on peace and stability of the Indo/Asia Pacific region even though it faced surmountable pressure and was baited to respond militarily. This is a classic display of “grace, prudence, and calmness under pressure” that Washington has never exercised when its hegemonic interests are threatened by any country for that matter.
To exercise strong restraint for the sake of avoiding World War III is not a weakness but it is a huge strength on the part of China. Unlike the US and Pelosi’s reckless, irresponsible, and showoff, China took the higher ground and displayed prudence and maturity as a great power.
But make no mistake, China’s military capability is equally strong and at par with that of the US. China, however, is responsible enough not to be triggered by such a travesty display of political adventurism of politicians like Pelosi just to covet and hanker support and votes for the upcoming US mid-term elections this November.
On another note, instead of creating tensions and interfering in the internal/domestic affairs of other countries, the US should probably focus more on responding to and solving its domestic problems.
The US is faced with one problem after another domestically, such as coronavirus, shootings, abortion rights, inflation, housing, poverty, etc.
Before meddling and minding other countries’ domestic affairs, the US should pay more attention to its domestic challenges and address them.
In that way, it is serving the interests of the American people.