China is warning it will respond forcefully if U.S. Speaker Nancy Pelosi proceeds with a planned visit to Taiwan. AP looks at why this is causing such heightened tension. Beijing objects to all official contact between Taipei and Washington.
A Cheng Kung class frigate fires an anti air missile as part of a navy demonstration in Taiwan's annual Han Kuang exercises off the island's eastern coast near the city of Yilan, Taiwan on Tuesday, July 26, 2022. The Taiwanese capital Taipei staged a civil defense drill Monday and Tsai on Tuesday attended the annual Han Kuang military exercises, although there was no direct connection with tensions over a possible Pelosi visit.
Pelosi is second in line to the presidency and would be the highest ranking U.S. politician to visit Taiwan since 1997. China has threatened unspecified Beijing objects to all official contact between Taipei and Washington, and routinely threatens retaliation. This time, the stakes appear to be higher. China launched military exercises and fired missiles into waters near Taiwan in response to a 1995 visit to the U.S. by Taiwan’s then-President Lee Teng-hui, but it’s military capabilities have advanced massively since then.
Pelosi had planned to visit in April but postponed after getting COVID-19. She has declined to discuss reported plans to travel to Taiwan in coming weeks. That could coincide with China’s celebrations of the Aug. 1 anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army, the military wing of the ruling Communist Party, and possibly overlap with a planned phone call between Biden and President Xi Jinping.
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