PLA ‘very likely’ to send warplanes over Taiwan Strait median line if Pelosi visits, analysts say
- It could become a ‘regular operation’ as part of military intimidation campaign
- Source close to PLA says it will step up pressure and ‘Beijing will give Taipei a hard time’
The PLA could send warplanes across the median line that divides the Taiwan Strait if US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visits the self-governed island, and analysts say it could start happening more regularly.
Beijing has repeatedly warned Pelosi not to visit the island, which it sees as a renegade province to be brought under mainland control, by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent country and acknowledge Beijing’s one-China principle. But Washington is against any attempt to change the status quo by force.
The PLA last week described a possible trip by Pelosi as a move to support “Taiwan independence” that violated the one-China principle and warned that the military would not “turn a blind eye” to it.
Lu Li-shih, a former instructor at Taiwan’s Naval Academy in Kaohsiung, said the PLA would likely send warplanes over the unofficial median line that separates the Taiwan Strait in response.