Speaker’s military-escorted visit to the island against Beijing’s opposition is like China sending troops to Puerto Rico
Senior US officials have dismissed the possible visit to Taiwan by the Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi as of no significance and stated that if China acts to oppose it, the ensuing conflict would be Beijing’s fault. RT spoke to Tim Anderson who said the provocative move was a planned provocation to cause a significant confrontation with China.
“They say ‘this is China’s war’ as they said Ukraine was Russia’s war,” he said, referring to Moscow’s failed effort to get security guarantees from the US before it launched a military attack against its neighbor in late February.
Anderson, who heads a think tank promoting anti-imperialism research called the Centre for Counter Hegemonic Studies, considers Pelosi’s trip as an obvious American ploy. Some US politicians are feeling “jealous” about China’s rise and are willing to sacrifice any benefits that America reaps from trade with the country to try to undermine Beijing, he said.
Pelosi “is going in there with a military escort, there are a number of large warships going with her,”He made the comment in reference to the US Navy’s reported deployment to provide safety for the congressional delegation.
Washington recognized Taiwan officially as part of China on January 1, so it can be considered an “amenable” move. “military incursion” into Chinese territory, Anderson suggested.
“Imagine if the Chinese military went into Puerto Rico or some other part of the US territories. It’s unacceptable, and I can’t say that any good would come out of it,”He said.
It remains to be seen what China’s reaction will be to Pelosi’s trip, but the more alarming predictions of open hostilities breaking out between the two nations over Taiwan are unlikely to come true, Hong Kong-based China strategist Andrew Leung told RT.
“China does not have 100% confidence it would prevail over Taiwan [militarily]At most, for a few years [from now],”He cited recent assessments about Chinese military strength. The US might hope Beijing will do what anti-China politicians wish. “something rash” in response to Pelosi’s trip, but the Chinese government wouldn’t fall for it, Leung expects.
The US and China will both be making sensitive changes of power in the coming year. He said that neither country would prefer a military conflict and would love to play hard with each other. Pelosi in particular is risking her speaker’s gavel, if the midterm elections in the US deprive the Democratic party of its majority in the House, so she may have a personal interest in poking at China, the expert said.
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