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Beijing’s war games in Taiwan after Pelosi’s trip spark concerns in South China Sea
- Analysts say Pelosi’s Taipei visit was not just ‘unhelpful’ to Southeast Asia but could lead to increased aggression beyond the Taiwan Strait
- The spectre of a US-China conflict over Taiwan could lead the region to be wary of holding joint drills, and cause ‘divisions’ within Asean, the observers say
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US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan was counterproductive to Southeast Asia’s interests, analysts said, as it not only “unnecessarily” sharpened the rivalry between Washington and Beijing but also raised fears that increased Chinese aggression in the Taiwan Strait could spill over to the South China Sea.
Despite warnings by China that the United States would “pay the price” should Pelosi travel to Taipei, she pressed ahead with her plans on Tuesday night. Beijing considers the self-ruled island a renegade province to be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary.
China launched live-fire drills after the US congresswoman’s trip, and sent more than 100 warplanes flying near Taiwan in an unprecedented war game deemed a de facto blockade of the island.
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Mainland Chinese fighters and warships head to Taiwan Strait for live-fire drills
Mainland Chinese fighters and warships head to Taiwan Strait for live-fire drills
Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political-science professor at Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University, described Pelosi’s Taipei stop as “ill-advised” and “an offensive move”.
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“Adding fuel to the China fire will be unhelpful to Southeast Asia, which has to rely on China economically and handle Beijing’s geopolitical belligerence,” he said. “Now Beijing is likely to be more assertive, not less.”
Ngeow Chow Bing, director of the Institute of China Studies at the University of Malaya, called Pelosi’s trip “unnecessarily distracting” as it came at a time the region was grappling with economic recovery plans, a resurgence in Covid-19 cases, as well as food security and inflation amid the war in Ukraine.
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A potential conflict between the US and China over Taiwan would create instability in the region, said Sana Hashmi, a visiting fellow at the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation in Taipei. “China’s intimidation over Taiwan will intensify,” she said, adding that Beijing would then be viewed as an “aggressor” by Southeast Asian states.
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