Taiwan

Shortly after arrival of US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, China began military drills surrounding the main island of Taiwan. Chinese naval vessels and military aircrafts crossed what had been an unofficial buffer zone between China and Taiwan for decades. And China continued the military drills. On August 4, ballistic missiles were fired. One of which flew directly over the main island of Taiwan and five of which had landed in the exclusive economic zone waters of Japan. Four missiles flew over Taipei.

Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan was clearly a provocation to China. What’s less clear is exactly what the US stood to gain from it – especially as President Joe Biden publicly warned against it, telling reporters that ‘The military thinks it’s not a good idea right now.’