We are pausing our live coverage of Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan now. Our full report of the day’s events in Taipei is here:
China’s military escalation in response to Pelosi’s visit may be influenced by Xi Jinping’s want to distract his country from plunging property prices, as well as a want to “project himself as a protector” ahead of the CCP’s 20th National Congress, according to Jade Guan, an expert in China’s foreign policy at Deakin University.
At the same time, Guan said the National Congress may reduce the likelihood of any major conflict as Jinping will want a “smooth holding of the conference”.
According to Guan, China’s current military escalation in response to Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan is not unprecedented, but how far it escalates will depend on the outcome of the meetings.
“We need to wait and watch the readouts from the Taiwanese government and Pelosi’s office which will be important for China to then judge what the level of this meeting is,” she said.
Guan said China’s announcement they will conduct live-fire military exercises in response to the perceived threat from the US is not the first. During the 1995-1996 Strait of Taiwan Crisis, China fired missiles into the waters around Taiwan after then Taiwanese president Lee Teng-hui travelled to the US.
