China Signals Plan to Launch Missiles Over Taiwan in Dramatic, Troubling Escalation
The move in response to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s high-profile visit to the island nation shows Beijing’s burgeoning standoff with the U.S. is only now beginning.
💬 “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,” Sacks wrote in Foreign Affairs.
Chinese military drills have invaded Taiwan's territory, says defence ministry, as Nancy Pelosi visit angers Beijing. The actions by Beijing are seen as a direct response to the visit to Taiwan of the US house speaker, who praised the self-ruled island for having "one of the freest societies in the world". China signaled on Wednesday it plans to dramatically escalate military provocations aimed at Taiwan to include flying missiles over it for the first time, a clear sign that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s departure from visiting the island nation marks not the end of a burgeoning standoff with the U.S. but rather the beginning of one. China has previously escalated its military activity on a level similar to the current standoff, analysts say, including in the 1995-1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis, when it launched a series of missiles to challenge Taiwan’s president at the time and undermine its presidential elections.
How Pelosi's Visit Hurts Taiwan (Moon of Alabama)
PLA drills continue to 'rehearse reunification operation', 'exercises blockading island to become routine'
Global Times Voice: To Pelosi’s wannabes in UK: you can’t afford playing ‘Taiwan card’ (Global Times)
Pelosi changes status quo of Taiwan Straits with provocative visit, exposes US long-term miscalculation
China Says US ‘Responsible’ for Taiwan Crisis; Chinese Military ‘Rehearses’ Air/Sea Blockade, Invasion of Taiwan