Pelosi wraps up Asia trip, leaves disastrous legacy, massive mess for Biden, Taiwan
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrapped up her high-profile and destructive trip to Asia after the final stop Japan on Friday and was put on the official sanctions list by the Chinese government for seriously trampling on the one-China principle.
With the curtains falling on the political stunt of the 82-year-old, who will always be remembered as a reckless and egocentric troublemaker, Pelosi’s tour in the region – widely considered as a “graduation trip” as she is likely to lose in the upcoming midterms – left nothing but a mess for the AsiaPacific region and the world, as well as incurred a huge damage to the US’ national interests.
Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, a blatant violation of the one-China principle and intrusion of China’s sovereignty, prompted China’s necessary countermeasures that are defensive in nature. As the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) drills surrounding the island continue, the world is clearly seeing where China’s red line is and has realized better that the US cannot protect “Taiwan independence” secessionists, even through the very military strength that the US has been proud of in maintaining its global hegemony, experts said.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Friday that it plans to sanction Pelosi and her immediate family members because she disregarded China’s serious concerns and firm opposition and insisted on visiting China’s Taiwan region. This seriously interfered in China’s internal affairs, undermined China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, trampled on the one-China principle, and threatened peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits, the ministry said.
Disastrous trip
Mainstream media outlets in the US ran stories questioning
Pelosi’s provocative trip, which appeared to deviate
from the US’ intention of enhancing the Indo-Pacific strategy but instead created more rifts among Asian countries. Some scholars and strategists called her visit to Taiwan unnecessary and unwise, which only served her own interests but created a potential global military crisis for no reason at all. The New York Times said in an article that this visit risked undermining US efforts with Asian allies, leaving allies to wonder what damage had been done, and there’s a sense among them that they were “left out in the cold to watch” and the handling of the visit was worrisome.
Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan overshadowed the original purpose of her Asia trip, as the US intended to enhance strategic cooperation with its Asian allies through its Indo-Pacific strategy, but the whole trip was only a political stunt of hers, Yang Xiyu, a senior research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times.
“Pelosi’s personal performance contradicts the US’ national strategy, as it only adds more security uncertainties to the region,” he said. Asian countries like South Korea are carefully striking a balance between China and the US in their geopolitical wrestling, and when it comes to the Taiwan question, their attitude would be even more cautious, Yang noted.
Such considerations could explain why South Korean President Yoon Sukyeol snubbed Pelosi during her visit to Seoul on Thursday, he added.
Pelosi’s trip left a huge mess not only for the Taiwan Straits but also for the secessionist Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities in Taiwan, as her trampling on the one-China principle – the absolute red line of China – caused the decisive response by Beijing, which also made the world see that the reckless provocation is leading the secessionists into a dead end and the US won’t stand with them, experts said.
Not only did Pelosi leave a huge mess for the secessionist DPP authorities and rising tensions in the Taiwan Straits, she also caused greater divisions in US politics, especially on how to handle the Taiwan question in the future, experts said.
“Probably when the Biden administration was close to making any agreement with China on the question of tariffs, Pelosi made the provocative move, and such a clash will make it difficult for China and the US to communicate in the near future, which will be a huge blow to US interests,” Lü Xiang, an expert on US studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Friday.
“Rather than making efforts in improving the US’ development and its external environment, she focused on creating more divisions in her own country, which is very pathetic,” he said.