After a few final handshakes and photos on the tarmac at Taipei airport, Nancy Pelosi rushed into her plane around 6 p.m. local time, “leaving Taiwan in a potentially more perilous situation than when it arrived”Write the Los Angeles Times.
Certainly, the ties between the United States and Taiwan “have strengthened over the past 24 hours, but the heaviest consequences of Pelosi’s trip are expected to be felt in the coming days, weeks and even months”probably leading to “increased instability in Asia”analyzes the log.
The major West Coast daily is not the only one to harshly judge the visit of the elected Democrat to Taiwan – a visit “so obviously provocative that it looks more like a political coup before the midterm elections”judge The Guardian in its American edition.
“It leaves a crisis in its wake, paving the way for new gestures between China and the United States to consolidate their power and influence in Asia”adds the New York Times. “And Taiwan is now preparing for the live ammunition military exercises promised by Beijing, an escalation without recent precedent”.
Reprisals
During these exercises, organized in retaliation for the visit of Nancy Pelosi, “Beijing has threatened to make incursions into Taiwanese territory and launch, for the first time, conventional missiles over the island”highlighted Politico. US officials “call China’s actions as bluster for now” most “other military provocations” are to be expected in the coming days, the site estimates.
After the visit of the elected Democrat, “we are on the way to an escalation of conflicts and this will certainly make things worse”says Stephen Roach, a professor at Yale University, to the chain CNBC. “It’s good for local politics in the United States and Taiwan, but it’s much less so for geopolitical forces” that already separate Washington and Beijing, he adds.
In summary, write the Washington Post in her editorial, Nancy Pelosi’s stopover in Taipei during her Asian tour was « reckless ».
Bloomberg is more nuanced, estimating that in 24 hours, “Chinese leaders and propagandists” went from extremely aggressive speech to ‘Calls for patience, as Beijing struggles to articulate a cohesive response to Nancy Pelosi’s historic visit’.
“No one knows how this will end”
The economic media considers that Chinese President Xi Jinping, who will run for a third term in the fall, “Is probably not ready to attack [Taïwan] militarily in the near future”. It will nevertheless have to give an image of firmness and Taiwan will incontestably be “an even hotter topic in the years to come”.
In an opinion column published by the Washington Postthe Republican Marc Thiessen, former pen of George W. Bush, finds nothing wrong with the trip of the elected Democrat. “By challenging Biden, the Pentagon and the Chinese dictator, Pelosi has delivered a strong and indispensable message on the international stage”he wrote. “China cannot intimidate the Speaker of the House of Representatives, nor the United States”.
The Atlantic remains cautious, assessing the risks but also the benefits of this highly controversial trip. “No one knows how this will end”writes the title. “As Taiwan stands firm and Beijing grows increasingly desperate”war may be China’s only recourse to seize the island. “Pelosi’s visit will then have contributed” to make this war “a real risk”.
But if the United States and China slide toward confrontation, “Nancy Pelosi’s show of force may have been necessary – to show the Chinese that the world and the United States are not afraid”concludes the magazine.