THE INDIAN EXPRESS

APLN member Shyam Saran writes about the US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. Now that the visit has taken place, attention has shifted to what China will do in retaliation. Having threatened dire consequences if the visit went ahead, Beijing’s reaction will need to be seen as substantial and visible.

The daily game over the past 10 days has been about predicting whether the US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s travel itinerary in Asia would include Taiwan. The formal announcement of the itinerary did not include Taiwan and since she finally made it to Taipei on Tuesday, the omission is inexplicable. Surely the intention was not to catch the Chinese by surprise. Yes, it did add drama to the visit which suits the publicity-savvy Pelosi just fine. Remember how in 1992, as part of a US Congressional delegation visiting China, Pelosi had unfurled a banner at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, expressing support for the young demonstrators who had died in the violent suppression of the pro-democracy movement in June 1989. That got her a lot of eyeballs back home. Poking China in the eye may help the Democrats in the forthcoming congressional elections. The domestic imperative is clearly visible.

Read the full article on The Indian Express here (paywall).

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